The Grief Bug, by Carly Dagit

Poetry, chapbook, 32 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

The Grief Bug is a collection of poems focused on the process of grief from a young artist’s perspective. The speaker of these poems sits and watches little ants go by and contemplates the nature of grief, pain, passion, life and fear of death. In this emotional meandering, they also find themselves debating the connection between art and pain. Using the “7 Stages of Grief” as guideposts, ironically, the poems reject compartmentalizing one’s feelings and emphasizes the idea that everything is connected. The author feels the formula for grieving is useless. Grief cannot be a checklist, emotions are a kaleidoscope.

This work aims to challenge the reader to think, and perhaps even overthink, the grief process– all while striving to comfort the reader. Each poem provides a sense of both clarity and confusion about how the speaker feels, attempting to give a raw uncensored look into the grieving mind. The author hopes to help readers smile, cry, and contemplate– but above all, to help the reader see that they are not alone even if they are feeling lost.

Carly J. Dagit is a writer and comedian based out of NYC. Her work explores themes of family, friendship, mental health, love, loss, and the queer experience. Growing up on a small horse farm outside of Philadelphia, Carly has a deep love for animals and a connection to nature which comes through in all her work. Her cat Viper is an important part of her creative process, even though she loves to sleep on her laptop when she’s trying to write. Whether it’s through poetry, comedy, visual art, or any other medium she experiments within, her goal as an artist is to spread love and joy to anyone who needs it.