True Stories

Inspired by various disasters, from climate change to the pandemic, the poems of True Stories whirl together extreme weather, isolation, and interpersonal dysfunction into a gathering storm of a book. The first poem, "100-Year Storm" foregrounds cyclical themes, asking readers to consider-again and again, over and over-the effects of interconnected catastrophes. When one storm ends, the next one begins. When waters recede in one place, they flood elsewhere. When we think we‘re ending, we‘re only just beginning. Split into five parts named for the four stages of hurricane formation and the eye of the storm, the book builds in intensity only to suddenly provide precious moments of calm relief. Poems about unbridgeable distances are side-by-side with poems about deep friendships and romantic relationships. Shattered free verse poems that move across the page are interspersed with orderly sonnets and other forms. Guiding the reader through a maelstrom before leaving them becalmed, the book artfully reproduces the feeling of living in chaotic times. Intimate and all-encompassing, each line is a torrent of emotion and truth. von Cabada, Caroliena