Philly Poetry Chapbook Review is pleased to feature Elinor Serumgard’s poem “What I Did This Summer” as our second featured chapbook poem of Issue 8: Spring 2025. You can find more poetry in their chapbook, Analogous Annum, now available from Bottlecap Press.
What I Did This Summer
Stars crash into the sea
silent explosions as the earth sighs
I grew tomatoes this summer
tiny golden orbs, sweet as the sunshine
strawberries too—tumbled from vine to lips to be gnashed open with greedy teeth
I recategorized my sex,
searched for moonbeams, and swam in the clear waters
as doe and fawn dipped furry mouths to drink
I saved lamps and sipped wine and tried to figure out
what I’ve been looking for
I’m tired of the quiet fear
of not living my life for who I am
I’m ready, to split myself in twain
a peach, reaching for the pit within.
Something solid, something real
About the Poem
This is the first poem in my chapbook, and it presents themes that are present throughout the book. Analogous Annum follows the seasons of the year, but it starts at the end of summer rather than in January. I love New Year’s and the promise of a new start, but I like to remind myself that you can start fresh at any point throughout the year.
The natural world is a massive inspiration for me. Growing food last summer was exciting! I played my part in growing a tangible thing; that was helpful for me because I was unsure what I wanted to do in a few aspects of my life. I didn’t know which way to go forward. Even though as an adult I don’t have the typical summer break that I did when I was a kid, the summer sun stretches days into a different type of time. It’s in these moments I’m most inspired.
The second stanza is shorter, less dreamlike and ambiguous. This speaks to the urgency I feel. As time passes, I realize I need to take action to live the life I want to live. This chapbook is a step I’m taking towards that.
Author Bio
Elinor Serumgard (they/them) is a writer and artist from Issaquah, Washington. Their work has been published in Stone of Madness Press, Cicada Creative Magazine, and #EnbyLife Journal. They love writing about queer identity and nature, often intertwined with each other. You can find them at www.elinorserumgard.com and @elinorserumgard on Instagram.
From Analogous Annum
Analogous Annum takes place somewhere between journal pages and expansive fantasies. Set within the framing of a year, Elinor Serumgard celebrates sensory pleasures such as the sweetness of summer tomatoes and the warmth of the sun. Underneath these delights lies the author’s drive for self-creation in big wide world.
Serumgard’s debut poetry collection is inspired by their desire to chase beauty and sensation, even when life comes up short. The keystone poem, “This Year I’ll Try Not To Feel Sad In the Winter” started as a mantra they told themselves while stuck washing dishes at work during the Big Dark—the Pacific Northwest’s omnipresent gloom during the winter. This poem grew into a surreal love letter to hope and Washington forests.
Analogous Annum is a collection of free form poetry that asks readers to savor the world around them.
Contents
Book Excerpt: The Prize of Québec by Jennifer Nelson
“I tend to lean into the transconstitutory powers of ekphrasis. … Only in poetry can one go to the moon in a way that critiques the quest for the moon.” Read a poem from Jennifer Nelson’s new collection from Fence Books, On the Way to the Paintings of Forest Robberies.
Chapbook Poem: This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . by Shanta Lee
“This poem explores the levels of our participation in handing ourselves over, often to the people, places, or things that deserve no such delight.” Read a #poem from Shanta Lee’s new book from Harbor Editions, This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . The Slaughter.
Three Poems by Jonathan Fletcher
“Instead of having to choose between religion or the LGBTQ community (which I know many member of the latter feel they have to do), I think it is possible (and maybe even biblical) to integrate both into one’s life.” Read three original poems from Jonathan Fletcher, along with words from the author.
What Happened? On You are Leaving the American Sector by Rebecca Foust
“Rebecca Foust’s new chapbook of poems has a strange prescience. … Foust isn’t alone in making the obvious connection between Trump’s first term and Orwell’s dystopia.” Read the full chapbook review by new contributor Rick Mullin.
‘What if we started creating together? What if we looked at who we are from the side and saw a much more complete and honest perspective?” Read four poems by poet Sarah E N Kohrs, along with words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Challenger by Colleen S. Harris
“If we look beyond the voyeuristic tendency to focus on the tragedy, what might we see? This poem was a chance for me to zoom in on the calm before the storm.” New poem from Colleen S. Harris’s new book from Main Street Rag, The Light Becomes Us, along with words from the poet..
Chapbook Poem: What I Did This Summer by Elinor Serumgard
“I love New Year’s and the promise of a new start, but I like to remind myself that you can start fresh at any point throughout the year.” New poem from Elinor Serumgard’s chapbook from Bottlecap Press, Analogous Annum, along with words from the poet.
Four Poems by Christa Fairbrother
“Since women aren’t allowed the power of our anger, we take it out on each other, and that’s what this poem is hinting at.” Read four poems by Christa Fairbrother, along with words from the poet.