Alumni Gazette
UR BOOKS: Federman writes his poems from his home in Livingston, N.J., not far from the Words bookstore in Maplewood, owned by Jonah and Ellen Zimiles. Jonah is the son of Herbert Zimiles 鈥�56M (Res), 鈥�56 (PhD) and Leontine Slavin Temsky 鈥�56 and the brother of Eric Zimiles 鈥�73, whose daughter is Justine Zimiles 鈥�12. (Photo: Shannon Taggart)Late last fall, as Wall Street crumbled and Washington floundered, Todd Federman 鈥�77 sat calmly at his desk turning panic into poetry. 鈥淭he marketplace was so depressing,鈥� he recalls, 鈥渢hat I said, 鈥楾here鈥檚 got to be a book in there.鈥欌�� As it turns out, that book was Rhymes For Turbulent Times鈥攁 collection of humorous poems about the nation鈥檚 economic woes that Federman published this spring.
Only a few years ago, Federman was immersed in the financial world he now views so playfully. During the 鈥�80s and 鈥�90s market boom, he worked on Wall Street trading stocks and bonds. But in 2006, after 25 years in finance, he was ready for a change. 鈥淚 had a nice run there,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut it was the right time to leave.鈥�
Unleashed from Wall Street, he found himself drawn to teaching, private investing, and poetry. Inspiration for the latter struck last October thanks to an unusual muse: a New York Times op-ed piece on subprime mortgages. 鈥淚t talked about how every player along the way had to do something wrong, and it reminded me of that old children鈥檚 rhyme, 鈥楾here Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淪omething about it inspired me, so I sat down and wrote a poem called 鈥楽ubprime,鈥欌�� modeled after 鈥淥ld Lady.鈥�
For his next composition, Federman revisited his undergraduate pursuits鈥攏ot the math and economics classes that primed him for Harvard Business School and Wall Street, but rather his stint as a poet. 鈥淚鈥檝e always enjoyed writing poetry, and the first poem I ever had published [鈥淎 Christmas Dream鈥漖 was in the 人妻少妇专区 Times in December 1976,鈥� he says. More than 30 years later, he followed up with 鈥淭he La$t Word at Christmas.鈥� Both poems were inspired by 鈥� 鈥橳was the Night Before Christmas,鈥� and each chronicled the end-of-year madness he observed around him. In 1976, that meant desperate students cramming for finals; in late 2008, it meant plummeting portfolios and faltering banks.
Last December, the Wall Street Journal featured excerpts from 鈥淪ubprime鈥� and 鈥淭he La$t Word鈥� in a front-page article on meltdown-inspired poetry. Encouraged by the national recognition, Federman spent the next few months penning more than 60 amusing poems about 401ks, Bernie Madoff, and other timely topics, then selected 50 for the self-published Rhymes for Turbulent Times. He says his readers range 鈥渇rom anybody who鈥檚 sick and tired of reading that the market鈥檚 down again to a lot of Wall Street types. I鈥檓 just trying to bring a little light-heartedness to the whole聽subject.鈥�
Though he鈥檚 not banking on a sequel to Rhymes, he admits 鈥渋t could happen.鈥� In the meantime, he pens economy-themed poems in his Livingston, N.J., home while working as a private investor.
As for his Wall Street days, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel like I鈥檝e given anything up,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a possibility I鈥檒l get back into it, but with the current environment, it doesn鈥檛 look too realistic right now. Wall Street jobs have changed dramatically, but I鈥檓 not writing it off entirely. I never say never.鈥�
Molly Petrilla is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer.