OUTBREAK: Poets Respond to COVID-19

When the editors at COUNTERCLOCK invited me to curate a special folio themed OUTBREAK, the world had just changed. We thought this would last mere weeks, but here we are months later, and so much has shifted. We have learned new skills and hobbies. We have become experts in virtual meetings, classes, and celebrations. We have learned how to adapt and support our favorite local businesses. We have learned to sit with discomfort, to appreciate the smallest human interactions, and to challenge our preconceptions of terms like “essential” and “nonessential.” We have lost Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Dion Johnson, and so many others. We have discovered new ways to grieve and new paths toward hope.

The poems in this folio long for sparrows and open space, hold meetings over Zoom, slip into meditation, hark back to the Great Plague of London in 1665, and confront anti-Asian violence. They question our safety, lament our careless use of plastic, hold dear our loved ones, and ask us to breathe in, breathe out. I hope you sit with each poem and hold it up to the light to see a moment of someone else’s life that might reflect back into your own. With gratitude to COUNTERCLOCK for making this folio possible, to the writers for trusting us with their work, and to you, dear reader, for making space in your life for poetry.

—Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello, Guest Editor

July 2020