The Skrews Poetry Syndication, Issue 002: 2020

By The Skrews Syndication

The Skrews Syndication is an independent literary publication that is dedicated to the darker, pain-filled words of poets who've experienced severe adversity, trauma, and tribulation in their lives. While the element of suffering is often held in high esteem in the poetry community, most poets who haven't already created a name go unheard. This publication is here to change this. We are by those, for those, and celebrated by those who are in this very real state of chaos.

Issue 002 (The Isolation Issue, 2020), is a collection of forty-two poems from various amateur poets from the United States that have been joined by a few international poets across the world.  The year 2020 has been a particularly trying year, and in respect, these poets have written a wide encompassment of poetry that highlights the subjects of isolation, grief, mental angst, displacement, and much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Skrews Syndication
• Release date: Oct 1, 2020

Book preview

The Skrews EmblemThe Skrews Syndication, 2020

The Skrews Syndication.

The Isolation Issue. 2020

Publisher: The Skrews Syndication

Published Year: 2020

Issue Number: 002

Issue Tag: 2020 Q3

SSBN: 49822A71-ED85-4D32-AF2C-3BD66C99AD63

Editor: L.A. Wyatt

Assistant Editor: Kayla Priest

Engineer: L.A. Wyatt

Cover Artist: Cory Lee

Copyright © 2020 by The Skrews Syndication

Cover image and derivatives © 2020 by Cory Lee

Poetry copyrights held by the respective authors

Publishing permissions granted by their holders

Made in Atlanta

Dedication.

To all those who are struggling with our changing world that the year 2020 has bestowed upon us… your tribulation is shared. A special thanks go out to all of our poets who have returned for issue two and all of our readers whose enthusiasm has kept us motivated. This issue is dedicated to the many that were lost this year, none of whom will be forgotten.

Gratitude.

For the second time, we get to thank you the reader, alongside our second batch of new and returning poets who have made this issue possible. This syndication started as a passion project and was put together with the sole purpose of highlighting poetry at the core of suffering. More importantly, exposing the raw and uncomfortable voices of individuals in pain. We’ve considered ourselves to be very blessed to receive all of the support that has been extended to us through these rocky times.

In this issue, poets originating from the United States are joined with poets across the globe to offer some very unique perspectives on their afflictions. This outreach is both unexpected and incredibly exciting as we get to experience these shared contexts internationally.

So again, thank you. It is difficult to be vulnerable in this world. Authenticity is just as rare. The individuals who participated in this issue took a risk and shared some often horrid scenarios that they’ve experienced in their lives. We’d like to recognize the strength in their actions, their words, and their voices.

Only darkness can bring meaning to the light... for the darkness is a mirror, a mere reflection of luminescence on the other side. Both are meant to be felt, and only when seeing the beauty within the darkness, can one be guided into the light.

From the Editors: The Isolation Issue.

I think it occurred to me in March of this year how different life will soon be. I canceled an upcoming trip to Boston, Massachusetts as the pandemic and quarantine measures became an immediate reality. Fear trickled over the world as region-by-region was contaminated, overwhelmed, and locked down to prevent the spread of the then ill-defined virus. Nixing that trip was an incredibly small affair in the light of events that were around me, but the subtlety of that action brought forth quite a bit of realization.

As supply lines strained, it became apparent how fragile we are - as individuals, as a society, and as a species. The amount of self-importance we garnered induced a false sense of security (and reality). Somehow, we had more trust in consumeristic