Apocalypse Opera, by Zoe Baber

Poetry, chapbook, 40 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Apocalypse Opera is a love letter to a world that seems to be crumbling before our very eyes. Consisting of poems written throughout the course of the pandemic in the United States, this chapbook details the feeling of loss, fear, and anger that has characterized America’s landscape from 2020 onwards. Rather than perpetuate these feelings, Apocalypse Opera intends to find hope and tenderness amongst the turmoil. These poems are both a statement of love and a battle cry. Because of our love for this world, we will fight for its betterment and find light in what may seem to be hopelessly dark places.

Through its words, this chapbook holds a lantern to the darkness and encourages illumination of the joy hiding all around us. Despite discomfort and fear, we must exist relentlessly and know that our world is worth saving. Apocalypse Opera is not a negation of any discomfort, nor is it telling readers to put down their fists. It is an acknowledgment, however, that we cannot allow these feelings to consume us. We must recognize that joy can and must exist in a world that seems to despise it. Finding our corner in which we can love is a part of the fight, and Apocalypse Opera takes steps towards building that corner. Happiness and tenderness in our modern world is its own revolutionary act. This chapbook attempts to take on that act head on.

Zoe Baber is an 18 year old writer born and raised in Southern California. She is attending college in New York in the fall to study creative writing and dance. Her work intertwines her passion for movement with her passion for words, in tandem with an ongoing, lifelong dedication to social justice. Her work can be found in Chewing Dirt Literary Journal, Superfroot Magazine, Youth Magazine, The Battering Ram Literary Journal, and more. She also frequently posts works in progress to @strawberysyndrome on Instagram.