You've probably got crazy stories from your childhood, but local poet Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez has better ones. Growing up on the far South Side, Mexican-American Gentry-Fernandez passed as white but never felt like she really pulled it off. Her poetry is a testament to her unusual adolescence experiences, feeling out of place, coping with her mixed heritage and being queer. We sat down at MoJoe's Hot House to chat about her work and her upcoming performance at the Mexican Museum of Fine Art's Sor Juana Festival on Friday, October 12th.
How did growing up in Chicago influence your poetry writing?
I don't think I had a very standard Latino or Chicano experience growing up. My mother is from Mexico City and my father was born and raised on the far South Side. We grew up at the same house as both my dad and my grandfather, so there's a lot of history there. The neighborhood is on the far South Side, and it's predominantly African American and Irish. [Unlike many Mexican-American kids], I didn't grow up with Spanglish at all, but every summer I was transported to Mexico and had to suddenly "be Mexican" while I was there. Once we left the country, I had to leave that part of my identity behind. At school, I held myself to not speaking Spanish or having an accent; I tried to blend in. Something else about me? Well, I was the first person to come out [of the closet] at my high school, the college prep school Morgan Park Academy. Before that, I attended Morgan Park High School, a Chicago Public School.
What have you been up to lately?
I think I'm trying to cleanse myself of my sins [laughs]. I recently read at Navy Pier for Hispanic Heritage Month, even though I identify as Latina or mixed or Mexican or Chicana, but not Hispanic. I invited my parents and they were upset about my work; they think I exaggerated a lot of the [personal] stories that I write about in my poetry. Right now, [I'm writing about] whatever comes out—[I'm] just trying to be as truthful about my experiences.
I just read at this conference on youth activism at UIC. It was a three-city perspective, featuring people from Chicago, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. I was the poet at the end of the program. There was a professor there from Mexico City, who came up to me after the reading and just cried. Tears were just rolling down her eyes, even though she was smiling. I'm doing another reading on October 26th for Domestic Violence [Awareness] Month at a gallery in Pilsen.
Tell me more about your poetry.
A lot of my work right now is shaped by [the] experience [of] transferring from the Chicago Public School's Morgan Park to the very bourgeoisie Morgan Park Academy, and realizing what they [the Morgan Park Academy kids] had that I didn't. My recent work [has] made my parents think that all I remember about my childhood were these negative experiences, but that's not true. I am very blessed, but I did have to punch up the conflict a bit for my poetry. It's something that all writers and actors do to improve a story.
How did you get involved with Proyecto Latina, a monthly literary reading event, at Tianguis Bookstore & Cafe in Pilsen?
Through Teatro Luna. I've been seeing their plays since I was about 18. They're mostly in English because they have varying language of Spanish fluency in the group—everyone from recent immigrants to those who speak little Spanish. They're an all-female cast, and they really try to be pan-Latino, which is cool. They're very well-connected here in the city. One of my friends who was in Second City told me about auditions for Teatro Luna, and I tried out and got into their upcoming show, Machos, a show about Latino men’s thoughts on gender and masculinity.
What have you got in-store for the upcoming reading at the Sor Juana Festival?
I'm trying to get a chapbook together; now that I'm "grown-up" I can't make zines anymore. A chapbook is like a grown-up zine—less art, a cardboard cover.
Any favorite Chicago hangouts?
I really like that working-class bar in Bridgeport, Bernice's Tavern.
Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez will read at "Entre Palabras, Letras y Cantos" at the Mexican Museum of Fine Art's Sor Juana Festival. Visit www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org for more information. You can read one of her poems here.
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