Before the Distance – a collection of poems and reflections by Pasquale Trozzolo – was written and published at a strange time in history: now. These 21 poems were, for the most part, penned as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting series of national lockdowns.

This subject will, of course, be familiar to many. Though based in the US, Trozzolo writes about aspects of isolation that affect everyone: cancelled celebrations, missed connections, fears and insecurities about the future. While the poems often speak with the voice of the poet, there is a sense that they are not tied to any one particular narrator, but instead arise from the collective experience of quarantine.

Each poem is accompanied by a brief paragraph explaining the genesis of the piece, or expanding on the ideas which it explores. In reference to “Graduation”, the first poem in the collection, Trozzolo writes:

“Graduation is a milestone we share with friends and family. An official declaration of completion. Success. A gateway. A right somehow lost to the class of 2020. A loss that will bind them like no other—perhaps for good.”

The poems themselves are relatively simple. They’re plain-spoken, considered, and usually brief. They ask questions directly of the reader, and are sometimes plaintive in their evocation of loss and uncertainty. The effect of combining this simple but urgent poetry with the explanatory snippets is to create a collection that feels raw, open, and intimately personal – these are thoughts that most people will have experienced at some point during the events of 2020.

Of course, the events which Before the Distance references are still ongoing. Some verses already feel as though they come from a previous era – a space in time not mere months ago, but years past. This is, perhaps, an inevitable consequence of recording in print responses to such ephemeral happenings.

The tone varies from piece to piece, but the collection as a whole eschews catastrophizing. Some poems give voice to despair, some are melancholy or sorrowful… but there is almost always a note of resilience. Engaging with these sometimes-fearful voices is, in part, an act of collective unburdening – of feeling less alone in a time of social isolation.

Before the Distance is a straightforward and unassuming collection that does well to document some of the more intangible effects of the pandemic. It’s a fascinating read at this particular point in history… and will no doubt be an interesting – if strange – set of verses to look back on in future years.