How to speak of the river of addiction and the trauma of loved ones drowned in it? An
epidemic that rages fiercely within the current pandemic, drug overdoses have claimed even
more lives this last year. In this group reading, three poets who are mothers of children who
died from addiction offer their voices, highlighting the ways in which poetry gives voice to
unspeakable tragedy. These poets are writing about the “silent epidemic,” one that doesn’t
have a Dr. Fauci as its champion, where big pharma is the villain, not the hero. The poems
explore three unique, agonizing and loving journeys of mother and child. Poems of varying
aesthetic styles, poems like prayers, curses, conversations with gone ones, poems that
illuminate both loss and hope, and offer ways forward. The reading is designed to spark a
fruitful conversation about art and addiction.
Link to recording:
https://salemstate.zoom.us/rec/share/DNXn_DGrgIUtUfSgUc1j7K-HYXTrTU49ThaVPNOx25x3nCpJzfj_CN_DQFWvFp66.JhFt9QKOXeSsvZuA
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