Emotional States by Jenica Lodde

Jenica Lodde‘s debut chapbook, Emotional States, calls to mind the work of Confessional poets like Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, and Sharon Olds for its bravery. In the prose poem “Sandstone,” the speaker admits, “I’m the only one who’s ever been crazy / I’m the only one who has ever felt need / I’m a woman who bleeds / through her fingers.” Yet, in exploring such honest emotions, Lodde has managed to create poems that will resonate, that have universal appeal for anyone’s who has grappled with depression and emotional distress. At the same time, however, Lodde has a knack for distilling single moments within a day, like the moon “turning grass white” or the sound of her daughter breathing next to her. This type of every day beauty is reason enough for the speaker to pick herself up and drag herself through the hours of the day. In “Making Mud Pies,” Lodde boldly proclaims, “I’m the one/ whose voice you hear / crying in the wild.” Indeed, Lodde’s voice is a powerful one, striking enough to echo long after the last line is read. Emotional States marks the debut of a new and fearless voice on the poetry scene. Pay attention to what she has to say.

–Brian Fanelli, author of Waiting for the Dead to Speak (NYQ Books)