An Hour in the Poetry Section
April 17, 2024
Writer: Sabrina Sugg
Editor: Alena Miklosovic
Love exists
somewhere between
a girl pretending
she can’t open a jar of pickles
and a boy pretending
not to know she could.
- Atticus
I was introduced to poetry through social media–Pinterest and Instagram, specifically. I would find myself scrolling and coming across five lines, maybe 40 words total, that would make me smile. Oftentimes, it was a bittersweet smile. I quickly learned that my favorite poems have deep, often metaphorical meanings, leaving them open to interpretation by the reader. Within these poems is often a duality between happiness and some sort of longing.
The best part of poetry, though, is that everyone is drawn to different elements of a poem. One that stirs up feelings within me might not resonate with someone else at all; what we take away from a poem is, in my opinion, impacted by the experiences through which we have lived. I can say with confidence that the poems that I pick up off of the shelf today are different from the ones that I gravitated towards in high school. Yet, there is always some semblance of a common thread between them. The books themselves are metaphors in that way: Although my experiences over the last few years have changed what I am drawn to within poetry, my core interests have never wavered.
I have always valued love above all else. I will eternally prioritize my family and friends, and I have this deeply rooted hope that I will someday fall in love. Thus, I have always sought out poetry that reflects these values. However, I am also at a point in my life where I am working on loving myself more, so I constantly keep an eye out for books that might reflect this effort. In this way, I have found that reading poetry also functions as therapy for me; reading the words of others in the form of poetry has helped me to better understand myself and the world around me. Because of this, I think that poetry is one of the most relatable and accessible forms of writing. You do not always have to take it at face value; you can form your own interpretations, even if the writing seems complex.
After walking into Barnes and Noble one Tuesday morning, I first purchased a lavender lemonade from the Starbucks on the main floor. With my brightly-colored drink in hand, I took the elevator up to the second floor and took a seat on the ground amidst the row of poetry books. The first book to catch my eye was a selection of poems written by E.E. Cummings, a poet to whom I was first introduced on Pinterest. Most of his writing, though, is a bit more old-fashioned and less relatable. Thus, I move on and pick up a book by Amanda Lovelace, who is a bestselling author of numerous titles. I flip through the pages until one catches my eye...
“history has shown us a great many things, has it not? it has shown us that some people begin as friends & end up as lovers; it has shown us that some people begin as lovers & end up as friends, & so on & so forth. no matter what happens, know this, dear one: relationships–romantic or otherwise–do not have to be long-lasting in order to be important, to hold castle-sized meaning.”
- Amanda Lovelace, Unlock Your Storybook Heart
Along with the previously mentioned poets, I would also recommend Catharine Hancock, Courtney Peppernell, and Amanda Torroni.
“I could write an entire book, call it
“Falling in Love at a Distance.”
I could pack the pages with metaphors
about having tectonic plates for a rib cage,
how my heart rests on a fault line,
but it’s no one’s fault but mine.”
- Amanda Torroni, Stargazing at Noon
