While Atkinson’s poetry is punchy and pithy all the same, with lines like “I pity the one who falls into the perilous pitfalls / that your sugared words disguise,” it was abundantly clear that there was a purpose behind his poetry. (Let’s talk about alliteration, too, while we’re at it!)
Interestingly enough, though both of Atkinson’s poems fit so beautifully within the issue, as “A Fated Case” echoes many of the controversies around abortion and Roe v. Wade’s recent overturning and “Prayers, Promises, and Prejudices” speaks to weaponized sentiment, both poems were originally influenced by Atkinson’s research on the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Little’s two poems, featured in First Things First, draw a lot on her own experiences, which have clearly been the impetus for not only her interest in women’s health, but her desire to advocate for it. A health advocate through and through, it was no surprise to me, as an editor with at least a slight penchant for forecasting material, that Little’s submission for Issue Two, Violent Delights, Violent Ends, took a journalistic turn.
But even through all of this, through her tangible passion, her truthful remarks on how the system misses the mark, and her friends, colleagues, and family questioning her motivation for it all, it was never once frustration. I asked her, pretty point blank if we’re being honest, how she moves forward in a field like women’s health that is fraught with angry politics, frustration, and fatigue.
Little was clear here like she was with everything else. “It was never about the frustration.”
