Poets with Masks On

"In a dark time the eye begins to see," wrote Theodore Roethke. The poets of this remarkable collection are the eyes by which we begin to see not only the darkness of our harrowing COVID year but also the strength, the necessary strength, to write and create in the midst of it all. In that way, this collection is both a document and a promise of what we can all summon in order to persevere.

-Richard Deming, Director of Creative Writing, Winner of the Berlin prize, Yale University







"Despite the darkness responsible for the origin of these poems, Melanie Simms has brightened the world by compiling a small, but compelling anthology. I, for one, am happy to have work included among such a varied, engaging collection."

-Gary Fincke, author of The Infinity Room and The Mussolini Diaries. Founding Director of the Writer's Institute, Susquehanna University