Buried Paper Airplanes —And You, by Maya Collins

Poetry, chapbook, 40 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Snow-covered roadkill and the eating of groceries are fragments of grief and longing in this chapbook, Buried Paper Airplanes —And You. A candid exploration of mental illness and womanhood reminds the reader of works by Shira Erlichman. Richard Siken’s marriage of the holy and the mundane is paired with Annie Dillard’s powerful metaphor. Coming of age and the human psyche are explored within chosen moments, intense and vivid. The work is an immersive experience that engages the senses, uncovers wounds—and offers a shining sliver of hope.

A young woman’s confessional narrative takes its shape in old minivans, hospital waiting rooms, and childhood bedrooms. In the midst of isolation, a thread of longing is woven into moments, sifted through like photographs. The poet longs for the friend, embodied in an imagined somewhere, a dream of home. Ultimately, paper airplanes crafted from children’s coloring sheets reflect a belief in the ability to fly beyond hospital walls into a future of belonging and togetherness.

Maya Collins is a published author, professional artist, and member of the Girls Write Now Collaboratory. Her work is featured or forthcoming in the Girls Write Now 2023 Anthology, The Girls Write Now 2024 Anthology, The Blue Marble Review, Tension Literary, The Alexandrian Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, and The Applause Journal. She is a rising Sophomore at Wheaton College as a Studio Art and English Writing double major. More of her work can be viewed on her instagram, @poems_by_maya.