Charlotte Moriggia Fantry is a long-time business teacher at North Bergen High School, teaching accounting and typing. But Fantry has always had another passion – poetry.
“I always have been a creative person,” said Fantry, who has also resided in North Bergen for more than 40 years. “I used to write to try to relieve stress. I had two sisters that died, so whenever I was upset about something, I would write. I just wrote down my feelings. I never thought it would lead to anything.”
Thirteen years ago, Fantry began to send her poetry to magazines and literary agents, which led to three books of poetry being published. Her poems were sent to former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and were used by the National Academy for the Arts and Sciences.
“I used to write about different things, like child abuse, substance abuse and peace,” Fantry said. “I’m a very emotional person and I take things to heart, so I would write about different issues. I’m not the most religious person in the world, but a lot of my poems were about faith in God.”
One of Fantry’s books of poetry was entitled, “Overtones of God,” published by Vantage Press in 1991.
But Fantry had taken a break from writing.
“I started writing in the ’80s, but I stopped for a while,” Fantry said. “I’m a single mother and I had to worry about raising my daughter (Cindy, who is now also a teacher in North Bergen) and worry about teaching. But after my daughter finished school and started working, I started writing again.”
Not long ago, a record company in Hollywood called Hilltop Records was producing a CD of Christmas music entitled The Music of Christmas. The executive producer of the project, Tom Hartman, liked Fantry’s poem “Jesus Was Born,” which appeared in American Poetry Trends magazine. He wanted to put the poem to music and include it on the CD compilation of 27 original Christmas songs.
“I write my poems in even beats, so they’re actually like song poems,” Fantry said. “I never even realized it. I don’t know music, except that I like to listen to it. I’m part of the Beatles generation, so music has been a part of my life. But I never wrote music.” Until now, because Fantry’s poem has been included in the CD, thanks to the music of Hartman, who gave the poem an upbeat Jackson Browne-like music quality.
The lyrics are simple, but poignant.
“Christmas is for caring, Christmas is for sharing,” the poem reads. “Jesus was born, so we could learn to do what we should and try to be good…so much pain caused inner tears, so much because of some fears…beauty and love he saw and that’s what He stood for…”
“I guess they just liked the way I wrote,” Fantry said. “I was surprised when I found out that they were interested. I never thought it would be a song. It was a good feeling when they mailed me the CD and I actually heard my words to music. It was a weird, different feeling, but it was really nice.”
The CD can be purchased on all record websites, including amazon.com and cdnow.com.
Fantry hasn’t told many people that she’s written a song that has been included on a Christmas CD that can be purchased in all major record stores. The Reporter found out through a press release from the company.
“I didn’t tell any of the other teachers or anyone, because I felt like I would be bragging,” Fantry said. “I tell people that I write, but not about the CD. It’s a great feeling. It makes me feel good about myself. I feel I can put my mind to anything. I’m able to fulfill more than I could if I didn’t write. I’ve always felt like the underdog a little. But having something like this happen makes me feel stronger.”
Fantry said that she has been inspired so much by the release of “The Music of Christmas,” that she has gone back to completing work she began while watching the events of Sept. 11 unfold.
“I was very moved by the tragedy,” said Fantry, who attended Oklahoma City University and had written powerful poetry about the Oklahoma City bombings in 1995. “I could never get around to finish what I started in September, but now, I have.”