A review by sondershelf
WHEN THE WORLD ENDED I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE FOREST by Glenn Diaz

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

"I have not been to a forest. This appears to be at the heart of this inquiry. I have not been to a forest."

I recall when I was beginning to delve deeper into poetry and was enamored by the idea of utilizing ecological concepts to talk about my overwhelming emotional state of dealing with anxiety and depression (and of course, teen angst). In one of the writing workshops I attended, a panelist commended this utilization, stating that it is a hopeful visualization of going back to one's "nature" due to its lack in my urbanized upbringing. I have always been fascinated and always saw solace in nature, its chaos not being assumed as necessarily destruction but as something that just occurs. Glenn's attempt at retracing our history through forests, not only exhibits our "roots" as a society, but also ways we have been uprooted away from this environment. 

Easily my favorite of this year.