Ask The Author: Eduardo Gabrieloff
[admin / May 25th, 2012 / Interviews ]These three wonderful poems by Eduardo Gabrieloff were published in the February Issue.
1. What have you walked into lately?
I walked into the darkest catacombs this side of the Mississippi. Let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty. The stench of evil down there was thick. Evil, it turns out, smells like dog poo. But dog poo does not smell like evil.
2. Which dictator do you smirk like?
I’d like to say Mussolini, as he had a perfectly measured little smirk, one that he must have practiced for hours in front of the mirror before he marched on Rome. But mine is involuntary. The true answer is Saparmurat Niyazov. Of all dictators, he seemed to be the most fun loving. And while he was a dictator, his self-obsession seemed the least harmless of all recent dictators. And who doesn’t love a man who bans lip synching?
3. How has being fluent in two languages influenced your writing?
Being able to read South American poets in their native language, particularly Nicanor Parra, has pushed me toward a new kind of minimalism. Though I’m still too self-obsessed to melt totally away from show-boating. Otherwise, it helps me approach topics from more than one philosophical background (as I think each language’s grammatical rules are manifestations of culture). For example, the word to vote in Spanish is votar. The word for throw away is botar. B and V make the same sound. To drink in Spanish, tomar, is also the verb for to give. Another example: pecueca. It means stinky foot smell in Colombia. There’s a specific word for it! Top that, English.
4. Which David Lynch film would you recommend for a first date?
Nicholas Cage singing Love Me Tender at the end of Wild at Heart is sure to make anybody swoon, as is Crispin Glover’s performance as Jingle Dell. Just makes you want to live, doesn’t it? Live and eat a sandwich.
5. What question are you willing to die for?
In 2010, Wes Craven presented the world with a question nobody has yet been able to answer. “If something was evil enough, could it come back to life?”
6. Where did you get that hat?
That’s not a hat….