Depression of the Zillenium

by Elle Verde

Elle Verde shares her experiences from 2019 to 2022 in her new poetry collection, Depression of the Zillenium. Each section of the book explores a unique year of circumstance and challenges: dealing with her depression, having a job deemed as an “essential worker,” coping with death in her family, violence in the news, questioning her faith, and, of course, living through and beyond the COVID pandemic. And while there are glimmers of hope, amid her people-watching and doom-scrolling, Elle tries to beautify the world around her with her words.

Early Praise for Depression of the Zillenium:

“… [T]his felt like reconnecting to an old friend while reading it—bonding through nostalgia, heartache, loneliness, and beauty. There were times where [she] captured my breath with a single line and made me sit and stare at the words [she] crafted together like crocheted mittens. Through [her] poetry people can be reminded of the complexity of the human experience- whether it be being a lonely child and watching parents grow older, dependence on seeing regular strangers at bus stops, and the exhaustion of being in community with shallow people.”

—Allison Couch, English teacher and Speech & Debate Coach

“[Elle Verde] writes poems close to poetry’s bone: in and of the body, the family, the observable world that both holds us and harms us. Torn between tenderness and torment, these poems rightly see us as a molecule of copper / set over fire.”

 —Todd Robinson, author of Mass for Shut-Ins

About the Author

Elle Verde (also known as Danielle Valverde) is an alumnus from the University of Nebraska in Omaha Creative Writing program, currently parsing life as a young adult in a post-pandemic world. She has had poems published in Plainsongs, 13th Floor Magazine, Scribe: Lincoln High School Literary Magazine, and Talented: 2012 Poetry Collection.

In this chapbook, Elle examines her experiences and relationships from living as a young adult before, through, and after the pandemic, specifically focusing on family, church, and herself. In the midst of her cynicisms, she finds moments of beauty and nostalgia in the mundane. Elle currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. In her spare time, she likes to crochet, draw, and paint.

The post Depression of the Zillenium appeared first on The Poetry Box.

In The News

We live in a world where access to breaking news is available 24/7. But how often do we go beyond the headline? What happened next? What was the impact on our fellow humans across the globe? Can we learn? Can we change? Can we make a difference? We invite the world to read these poems and start a conversation—perhaps one that is way overdue.

Contributing Poets from Around the Globe:

Alan Catlin • Anita S. Pulier • Anne Casey • Bett Willett • Brad G. Garber • Brian Garrison • Brigitte Goetze • Brittney Corrigan • Carolyn Martin • Cathy Cain • Charissa Menefee • Charles Rammelkamp • Charlotte Mandel • Christopher Luna • Christopher Stolle • Claudine Nash • Colette Tennant • D.R. James • dan raphael • Daniela Gioseffi • David Belmont • David Lawton • Deborah Jang • Dianalee Velie • Dotty LeMieux • Ed Mabrey • Eleanor Berry • Eleanor Kedney • Elizabeth Kirkpatrick-Vrenios • Elizabeth Kuelbs • Emily Madapusi Pera • Eric le Fatte • Gary Fisher • Heather Truett • Heidi B. Morrell • Ingrid Wendt • Irene Bloom • J.I. Kleinberg • Jamie Brian • Jan Ball • Jane Blanchard • Jane Yolen • JD Amick • Jeanne Julian • Jeff Fearnside • Jo Angela Edwins • Joan Colby • Joanne M. Clarkson • Judith Skillman • Judith Terzi • Judyth Hill • Julene Tripp Weaver • Junious Ward • Kathleen Patterson • Kathryn Staublin • Katy Brown • Kelly Konya • Ken Cathers • Laura LeHew • Liam Stegman • Linda C. Conroy • Linda Ferguson • Linda Kraus • Linda Strever • Lindy Low Le Coq • Louisa Clerici • Lucy Duggan • Lynn M. Knapp • Marc Swan • Marilyn Johnston • Martin Jon Porter • Maryah Converse • Matt Farr • Melanie Green • Michael H. Lester • Michael S. Glaser • Naila Claudia Schulte • Nancy Flynn • Pamela Ahlen • Pat Brisson • Pattie Palmer-Baker • Paul Bufis • Paul Genega • Pesach Rotem • Phyllis Wax • Ralph Long •  Sandy Deyoe • Sarah Lilius • Sharon Alexander • Sharon Wood Wortman • Shawn Aveningo Sanders • Sherry Chandler • Stephen C. Pollock • Steve Williams • Suzanne Bruce • T. McClelland • Tara L. Carnes • Tim Gillespie • Tom Hogan • Tracy Davidson • Tricia Knoll • Trina Sotira • Valerie Forde-Galvin • Veer Frost • Vivienne Popperl • Wendy Brown-Baez

Sample Poems:

Take a Knee
by Jane Yolen

Take mine, I give it freely,
though it’s hardly worth the bend.
Filled now with metal,
worn from years of dancing,
fencing, walking for justice,
standing on vigil lines.

Take mine if you will,
though you will find it stiff
from trudging at night
to comfort babies, grandbabies;
from watching for birds, bobcats;
Standing on podiums giving lectures.

Take mine if you can.
I may have but ten years
more use in it anyway.
If it can support justice,
bring comfort to the distraught,
help the weak walk, lead the poor to work.

Take it if it can help children run,
students cross streets,
the poor to stand tall,
pickers kneel in the field,
union men and women long on lines.
Then take my knee indeed.

On Hearing News of the Massacre Of The Children
~ After Milton’s “On the Late Massacre in the Piedmont”
by Veer Frost

To remember, not where I was
but what
a child is

Still mostly soul
in sudden hummingbird halts
and starts
toward embodiment,

And how the rambunctious light
out of a child’s skin
comes and goes
back in

As if it has two homes
and need not choose
between the springing cowslip world
and migrant heaven.

An Audio Poem from the Book:

Any Given Day
by JD Amick

The post The Poeming Pigeon: In The News appeared first on The Poetry Box.