More of this Feature • “My Father Should Have Been a New York Yankee,” poem by Meagan Brothers

Elsewhere on the Web • The Rogue Gallery (contains poems by Meagan Brothers, Miriam Stanley & more NYC poets at roguescholars.com) • Meagan Brothers poems at poetz.com • “Picture of You as a Boy” at Pink Pony Poets

The first time I heard Meagan Brothers perform, she was apologizing to the audience for her bad mood. She said she missed her mom “down home,” who worried about her in the Big City. Small, quiet, unassuming, Meagan proceeded to read correspondance verse based on the letters she and her mother had sent back and forth. The audience laughed, and applauded wildly. As Meagan told her mom, “Don't worry about not liking what I am doing; neither do I.” This displaced Southerner also spoke of her mom gathering Parade Magazine issues into boxes to present later to her “deprived” daughter. One seasoned poet nodded his head and whispered “smart girl.” The female poets called this newcomer “their hero.”

Meagan Brothers is a polite bad ass hailing from Lake Lure, North Carolina. She came to New York City after finishing film school in Winston-Salem. She says of North Carolina, “The best thing North Carolina did for me was be quiet.” Growing up, she spent lots of time in a house by a lake, where she would write for hours. When asked the Influences Question, Meagan replied: “24 hour Walmarts, Patti Smith, and Beat poetry.”

Meagan has been in NYC just a year, but she has made a big buzz down at the wide-open readings at Pink Pony West. The older poets could barely believe she was only twenty-three years old. Among her accomplishments: a feature at the Pink Pony, and a performance at CBGB's New Year's Day marathon. You can find her poems in the Rogue Scholars gallery.

Of the local poetry scene, Meagan has said that the Pony is her favorite place to read. She has visited the slam scene, but said the Pink Pony remains the place with the greatest diversity. Of this venue, she writes “there is a pretty good cross section of age, race, gender, etc....”

Although too young to have experienced any of the tumult of the Vietnam War era directly, she wrote a poem to her father called “My Father Should Have Been a New York Yankee” about her dad who was drafted when his first child was born. This first child, in actuality, was Meagan's oldest stepbrother, but in the poem, she is that child. When asked about the events leading to the poem, Meagan writes, “I didn't even know my dad fought in the war until two or three years ago.” As with so many veteran families, her parents just didn't want to talk about it. Meagan adds that she romanticized the part about her father having almost been picked for the Yankees; he was actually in the minor leagues. She did the poem, she says, in homage to him.

Although Meagan warns she might leave New York soon, her many fans are praying she sticks around. She is a girl wonder in the Village! Of course, Meagan is known as the poet with the Southern drawl.... so read her poem with your ears tuned South!

Miriam Stanley

Next page > “My Father Should Have Been a New York Yankee” > page 1, 2

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Miriam Stanley is a New York City poet who has performed at many venues including Dixon Place, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and the Pink Pony. She is senior editor of roguescholars.com.

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