Rarely do I open a book and feel the voice sweep me away as quickly as I did with Isabelle Correa's second collection, Portrait of a Person Who Pushes Love Away in Fear of Losing It (Arcana Poetry Press). These poems hit like a rollercoaster—shocking reveals, deft language, original imagery. Each one pushes you forward to the next in a strong, confident voice. Correa's not bending to anyone else's traditions or expectations. She has a pliability to her words like a sapling excels in both flexibility and strength. At times piercingly vulnerable, at others steadfast as a rock. She defies expectations.
This collection deals in tough topics—an abusive childhood in which the speaker and her siblings suffer draconian punishments and physical abuse. In a home where Judge Judy deals justice and Brittany Spears offers solutions, the speaker finds freedom in the arms of others, as in the poem, "On My History of Kissing Everyone at Parties," ...
In my defense they told me I was pretty
or listened to me talk
or shared a secret
or were named James
or Kate
or Miguel
(Hear it read on The Slowdown or read the full poem on Only Poems.)
Sometimes the love interests in this collection are as tender and searching as our speaker, other times it becomes clear the other person has less than pure motives as in, "Beloved,"
The men with sun-eyes started to hurt me. At first, it hurt
in a fair and familiar way, like the weight of the rock pressing
perpetually, the pressure of my old home on my strong back.
Correa shows us her world with clear eyes, a landscape of poverty where broken car windows flap with "black trash bags / duct taped across / that open wound / like a hillbilly set sail / over the mountain" (from "Forgive Me / It's My First Time / Here / On Earth").
She gives us moments rich in rural liberty, an unleashed upbringing of skinny dipping, field adventures, young love. And slow days that pass in front of the television, trying to understand morality, justice. Society orbits around a church youth group, and its congregation of teens searching for truth and community.
As the collection progresses, we see the speaker grow into adulthood and the challenges of maintaining love after a childhood spent living under the thumb of a broken model. In the final poem, a benediction, Correa ends on strength, "[a boy proposes],"
after walking the city
like an aisle.
You rest,
tapping your fingers on the table
waiting on no one.
We're thrilled to have Correa join us to share some of her literary inspirations over the years, and favorite books in The Poetry Shop 5...
Welcome to the Poetry Shop 5, Isabelle Correa, we always start by asking... who was your "gateway poet," the author whose first book, or poem, sparked your interest in poetry?
I was dating a poet. ("Dating" is a strong word; I was trying to date a poet but he was in love with someone else and used my bed as an occasional place to crash.) He read "Early Darkness" by Louise Glück to me and I was hooked. I was immediately obsessed with the depth and power of this poem, of a god looking at creation and asking, "How can you say / earth should give me joy?"
Which poetry book are you currently reading?
The Size of Your Joy by Elise Powers. I love how Elise Powers balances craft and accessibility. Her poems are delicious and fearless.
Is there a book on the craft of writing that you recommend to poets?
My recommendation is not a book on craft but a poetry collection—frank: sonnets by Diane Seuss. As an editor, the most common issue I see with a poem that's just not there yet is the lack of movement—a poem that doesn't really go anywhere or add any insight to a scene, just describes it. My advice is to study frank: sonnets by Diane Seuss. Specifically, study the endings of these poems, the volta. Each poem in that collection is genius and full of movement.
What’s a poetry book that others may not know about but deserves a shout out?
Anja Mujic. I had the honor of editing her latest collection, Blue Mother. It's an epic and raw story of immigration, war, and family.
About Isabelle Correa
Isabelle Correa is the author of Portrait of a Person Who Pushes Love Away in Fear of Losing It (Arcana Poetry Press, 2026); Good Girl and Other Yearnings (Write Bloody Publishing, 2025), winner of the Jack McCarthy Book Prize; and the chapbook Sex is From Mars But I Love You From Venus. Her poems have appeared on Only Poems, The Slowdown, and HAD. She writes the Substack newsletter A Poem Is A Place. Originally from Washington State, Correa is now based in Mexico City.
Books referenced in this article.
Portrait of a Person Who Pushes Love Away In Fear of Losing It (Arcana Poetry Press) Isabelle Correa
The Wild Iris (Ecco Press) by Louise Glück
frank: sonnets (Graywolf Press) by Diane Seuss
The Size of Your Joy (Central Avenue Poetry) by Elise Powers
Blue Mother (Book Reality Experience) by Anja Mujic