POWER STRIP
by Fay Roberts
SOURCE: “Interview with Burlesque Dancer Dita Von Teese,” pagedaily.com (Sept. 2014).
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: “Power Strip” isn’t a simple erasure – it’s a combination erasure and concrete poem taken from an interview with burlesque artist Dita Von Teese. I had the idea of an erasure forming a shape, and realised that an obvious one would be the outline of a body. Rather than this being a subjectifying image, I wanted to celebrate the female form, and how better than with the words of a powerful female burlesque artist? True burlesque is about power and celebration rather than dressing-up or titillation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Fay Roberts is a peripatetic percussive performance poet by night and a professional projector by day. She runs the Cambridge branch of the Hammer & Tongue slam series, and her own poetry label Allographic (which functions as a small press and a platform for performers), along with hosting critically-acclaimed Fringe show “Other Voices Spoken Word Cabaret.” Visit her at fayroberts.co.uk.
Photo of Fay Roberts © Louise Frohock, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Silver Birch Press 