canthius 13

There’s definitely an encyclopaedic urge in my writing to try to fit everything into a poem, to push against the boundaries of what a poem can contain. I think it varies for each project, but in Crying Dress I rarely sat down to write a poem from beginning to end.

I think every poem has a central element driving it, whether that be the speaker’s voice, a particular set of images, a line break that cracks the poem open, a strange prosody or twisting language, an unsettling way of framing an idea, a striking layout on the page—any of these things can catch my attention.  

Stories are often an amalgamation of perspectives and a person’s unique connection to them, resulting from all the stories they’ve lived; Bird Suit navigates multiple perspectives and multiple stories, slowly stitching together a central story that many people hold a piece of.

The texture of faith in Theophanies soothes me, as it understands faith as flawed, ruptured, unruly and riotous. The cover begins our understanding of this faith, present in titles. I understand Theophanies as the combined Greek theos from θεός • (theós), meaning “god” or “divine”, and φαίνω  (phaínō), concerning manifestation and appearance.

With its Lisa-Frank-esque, unicorn-bedecked cover, Sadie McCarney’s second poetry collection promises fun, irreverence, and whimsy. In that aspect, it certainly delivers, but behind the cotton-candy design also lies a deep dive into mental health, personal experience, and history that you might not expect.