Poems from Pandemia: Chapter and verse of perspectives on the current situation
Patrick Cotter of the Munster Literature Centre has edited Poems from Pandemia.
A record on the dark times we are living through is how Patrick Cotter describes Poems from Pandemia, a new anthology of poetry he has edited and to which he has contributed. Cotter, director of the Munster Literature Centre and an award-winning poet, put out a call in April 2020 to poets to submit works of hope - or its lack - dealing with Covid-19 or historical plagues. The remit was broad, including autobiographical work or surrealist poetry. The result is a collection of 69 poems by both established and emerging poets from across the English speaking world. Contributors include James Harpur, Derek Mahon, Thomas McCarthy, and Breda Joyce.
Cotter, who produced the publication from his home, was very unwell back in March of last year. "I'll never know whether I had Covid or not. At the time, the testing regime became overwhelmed. The only thing I can say is that it lasted longer than any flu I've ever had. I was in bed for a week with a bag packed in case I needed to go to hospital. Two months later, I was still feeling very debilitated. It was a weird one; I was very fatigued."
