Backlash Journal

Poems written in isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020

This collection is wholly unique to any that I've curated. The incomparable nature of the of the submissions I received certainly reflected the exceptional times we are living through. Some were handwritten. Many were from teenagers, children, elders, and mental health patients. All were raw, perfectly threadbare in their humanness, and pining for connectedness.

Although I couldn't possibly include every submission I received, I tried my best to create a true elucidation of the sheer range of voices, the people's voices, inside this chronicle of our time in isolation. I wanted to archive an authentic window in verse and I'm gratified with the result. In so many ways, shaping this journal both broke and mended my heart. I was humbly reminded of why, and for whom, I started this press. Thank you.

All proceeds go to Mind and Mental Health America.

Gretchen Heffernan