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Most people hear the word metrophobia and think fear of cities. Carolyn Martin hears it and smiles, because she knows it means an irrational fear of poetry. Her new collection, Metrophobia: An Irrational Fear of Poetry, is here to prove that poetry isn’t something to fear at all. It’s something to laugh with, lean into, and maybe even fall in love with.
Carolyn’s poems move from tender to funny to quietly profound, often in a single page. In “Chores,” she turns a forgotten load of laundry into a meditation on impermanence. In “Q&A,” she captures the joy of a six-year-old neighbor whose daily questions cut straight to the heart of curiosity. In “To My Soon-to-Be Favorite Advice Columnist,” she wonders if writing poems is worth the time, then answers herself with the stubborn joy of a true artist.
She even channels the voice of the Buddha in one poem, reminding us that rejections and acceptances are the same, that every poem has a beginning and an ending, and that the only mistakes are not starting or not going all the way. It’s the kind of wisdom you can only get from someone who’s lived fully—and, at 80, Carolyn is publishing with an urgency that feels like a gift to the rest of us.
Whether you’ve read a thousand poems or have always kept poetry at arm’s length, Metrophobia will meet you where you are. It’s warm, surprising, and deeply human. It’s proof that poetry can belong to everyone.
Preorder your copy now from Amazon, Lingua Ink Books, or Carolyn’s site. Then tell us: what’s the last poem that stayed with you?