Up Close with Matt Starr

Who’s Matt Starr?

I’m a poet and co-founder of Dream Baby Press (an independent New York City based book press).

Over the past few years, I’ve been focusing on finishing my debut book of poetry Mouthful. I’ve been working on this book since 2021 while simultaneously growing Dream Baby.

Tell us more about Dream Baby’s readings.

Part of the reason we started Dream Baby Press was to throw exciting readings in iconic and unexpected New York City locations with writers and artists we loved. We wanted our shows to be memorable and feel like the type of events that made you want to live in New York City.

My Dream Baby partner Zack and I are obsessed with the often overlooked spaces in NYC that also make New York what it is and felt like the space was such an important part of creating a special experience for people. Some of the spaces we threw readings in were the Penn Station Sbarro, a 3-story Burger King, the oldest magic shop in the country and an old East Village porn shop.

We wanted to throw the readings we wanted to go to –ones that were fun, erotic and felt like these were the type of events that made you move to the city.

‘Mouthful’ launch photo by Anna Maria Lopez.

Speaking of erotic readings, what’s erotic literature today? Its role, its mission, according to Matt.

I really don’t know. I just know I like to read things that excite me and for the past few years I’ve really loved reading erotica and then writing my own version of it.

I also got really into rom-coms and to me my poems feel like mini romantic comedies. They’re horny but sweet.

When I perform my poems to an audience, I can hear gasps in the crowd or people nervously laughing. So, maybe that says something about the role of erotica right now. It needs to loosen people up a little.

Your debut book, Mouthful, came out on July 27. Among the subjects: “Getting fingered at the Museum,” “carrots in vagina as a means of connection”… How would you define Matt Starr’s poetry and where do you draw inspiration from?

I think a lot of my poems are a balance between horny, sweet and fun. All the poems have a longing and lustfulness to them. I write to make myself laugh.

I was living next to Central Park during 2020 and I’d go on runs and take my shirt off (a big deal for me) and yell the poems into my phone so it would dictate them.

That’s how a lot of the poems were written. I also became obsessed with Sex and the City, rom-coms, Nora Ephron, Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen while writing the book, so I‘m sure there’s a lot of inspiration there.

I used to take long walks on the Upper West Side going up and down every street. I never really explored it before moving there and it felt like the New York that’s depicted in films and I really fell in love with it. The Upper West Side was also a big inspiration and the energy up there. It’s different than the rest of New York. It’s slower and feels a bit stuck in time. It’s also beautiful and I loved being around all the older people.

‘Mouthful’ launch photo by Anna Maria Lopez.

How was the launch party?

It was one of the best nights of my life. We threw it at this old school boxing gym in FiDi and had a marching band open the show.

It felt like my birth, my Bar Mitzvah and my graduation all in one. I had some of my favorite people perform and others read my poems. My parents drove out from Cincinnati for the launch which was really special. They’ve never seen me perform, so it meant a lot.

Joan of Arca read religious Harry Potter fanfic, Jon Burgerman read Beatles fan fic dressed up as John Lennon, Angela Trimbur performed a medley of iconic songs ending with “New York, New York,” Kareem and Molly Soda read my poems, Mackenzie Thomas, Jemima Kirke and Ronald Wohlman gave beautiful speeches. There was a real electricity in the crowd. I felt a lot of love that night.

We also had a Drake celebrity impersonator perform a few songs. A friend posted a video online and the real Drake reposted it and it went viral online.

What’s next for Matt Starr?

I’ve been working on Mouthful for years. I used my book as a guinea pig to learn to how to make a book which was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, so I need a break.I’m going to go on the road and do some readings but I’m also working on publishing some other writers’ books for Dream Baby.You know what I’m really excited for? I’m really excited to get back to going on long runs in the park topless yelling poems into my phone.

Instagram: @mattstarrmattstarr