There may be snow on the ground, but The Summer Street Library’s blog lives and breathes (albeit chillily and wrapped up in a scarf).
While we often start our spotlight artist articles with a brief introduction to the work or its artist, this week we are diving right into the poetry. Powerful and poignant, these three poems by rising star poet and spoken-word artist Parruh Dox stand alone.
There is something to be said about horror movies. No matter how terrible the times or how horrendous reality seems to be at the moment, slasher flicks always seem to draw a crowd. In fact, many of my friends lean into a Netflix binge of Criminal Minds or Hannibal during a hard break up or difficult time in their life. These days, a horror film reads pretty close to reality — if not a bit peachier.
Following that train of thought, why not then, in the midst of a global pandemic, read about a plague? Cue to Albert Camus’ The Plague.
The Plague by Albert Camus takes place in the French colonized town of Oran, Algeria. Racial, social, and medical injustices abound in the 308-page book which uses a devastating pandemic to delve into even deeper issues: capitalism and corruption, gross injustices, and a false sense of superiority. Split into five sections, the novel details the insidious spread of plague (in a town that steadfastly ignores its progression) and the subsequent disintegration of a sane society. Sounds eerily familiar, does it not? Well, at least COVID-19 isn’t harbored in the bodies of, and I kid you not, blood-spewing rats…at least not yet. Though…there was that one squirrel in Colorado with the Bubonic Plague (he really couldn’t read the room).
Welcome to our blog for readers, writers, and artists alike…
The Summer Street Library could be anywhere and welcomes everyone. We read a vast variety of different books with varied genres, topics, and writers. These books span the gambit from classics to contemporary, romance to historical fiction. The Summer Street Library is pro-pleasure and exploration — especially in the written world! Push yourself to pick up a book you normally wouldn’t consider or read an author you’ve never heard of before — you may find a new favorite. If not, no worries…simply pick up another and start again!
The Summer Street Library blog isn’t just another list of books received and read though. This blog functions as a platform to spotlight artists of all kinds, working to centralize marginalized voices and push back against the broader racist, colorist, sexist, ableist, homophobic, and transphobic publishing industry. The Summer Street Library focuses on highlighting young, divergent, and or underrepresented writers and artists with an especial focus on unpublished or self-published writers. If you are interested in contributing to The Summer Street Library as a spotlight artist, please contact the blog’s founder, Sadie Hofmeester, at thesummerstreetlibrary@gmail.com.
Be on the lookout for more from The Summer Street Library — here all Summer!