Solastalgia

by Brittney Corrigan

Recalling Joni Mitchell's famous lyric "They paved paradise, put up a parking lot," Solastalgia is a heart-wrenching and harrowing overview of environmental destruction. Though it is an ominous exploration of the Anthropocene era and the ways humans have contributed to the changing climate and landscape, it spends much of its time honoring all the strange and wondrous creatures-"may you outlast us"- that humans, both intentionally and unwittingly, are shoving toward extinction's cliff. Solastalgia is an eloquent tribute to all the awe-inspiring flora and fauna that we have failed as a species. I love this book not only for its incisive eco-eye but also for its dazzling language terrains. Using language as the tool to effect change, these poems make you want to be better, do better. ―Simone Muench

Genres: Poetry

120 pages, Paperback

Published July 10, 2023

About the author

Brittney Corrigan is the author of the poetry collections Daughters, Breaking, Navigation, 40 Weeks and most recently, Solastalgia, a collection of poems about climate change, extinction, and the Anthropocene Age (JackLeg Press, 2023). Brittney was raised in Colorado and has lived in Portland, Oregon for more than three decades, where she is an alumna and employee of Reed College. Her recent debut short story collection, The Ghost Town Collectives, won the 2023 Osprey Award for Fiction from Middle Creek Publishing.

Reviews

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of poems about climate change, extinction, survival, love, and hope.

from Canis: "Doesn't / your heart wish to trot down darkened / sidewalks, outwit what has clobbered it, / yip and howl at every streetlight moon? / Here, come stand at the window. Watch / the yellow eyes, ears that swivel toward / the city's hum. This is the dog you've always / wanted. The one that turns city to wildscape. / Stops you in your tracks. Unguards your door."

from Racoon Nocturne: "You call us trash pandas—a name / that presumes we're drawn to the taste // of what you cannot stomach. We wash / what you waste, make it clean."

from L'Appel du Vide: "When faced with dizzying // heights, our human selves imagine jumping— / off the roof of a building, a bridge, a cliff. / But mostly we don't jump. Mostly we step back, // invincible. We retract our fear inside us, shell / our hearts. No wonder we hurtle our way through / extinction after extinction, grazing the edge."

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved each poem.

[Mona Mehas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful yet sometimes frightening book of poetry.