On Music & Poetry
December 2025
from the other side of the screen
Editorial Column by Alexa Manning
Last month I wrote to you all about my thoughts on Fever as our upcoming theme. Now I'd like to continue that conversation with an old one—music in relation to poetry.
At the end of November, I was lucky enough to attend Lorde's Ultrasound Tour in Birmingham, UK. I have written previously about how a record can become strongly associated with projects in my head. This has been true for the manuscripts I have edited with CM Editorial House, and it is true for the Fever Issue.
Lorde's most recent album – Virgin – explores the frenzy of ovulation, the sickness of body dysmorphia, the plague of failed love, the raw obsession of proving oneself, and so many more aspects of being a woman. Somewhat experimental and yet extremely relatable.
The reason why I bring this concert experience to the newsletter is because of the power of art. Standing in the center of a sold-out 15,000 capacity stadium, screaming the lyrics in unison, reminds you that life is communal. We thrive when art brings us together; we do not have to be slaves to the individualistic capitalism that drives nails between us.
Between songs (before "Liability", iykyk) Lorde said she was amazed to remember "that so many people could love someone with so much inside of them". Everyone contains multitudes, some more turbulent than others. But what makes us unique should not be tamped into a mold that doesn't fit; expression through your chosen art form can become a magnet that pulls like-minded, love-filled people towards you.
The mere idea that I could have had a hand in selecting a poem for this issue that makes a reader or poet feel this way is what motivates me. It is what I love about poetry and what I hold dear as an editor. It is such a privilege to be a like-minded, love-filled reader that platforms voices that contain so much inside of them.
This is your reminder to be weird and whimsical. Be enraged, be kind. Allow the multitudes inside you to collaborate and create something wonderful. I give you the "Green Light" ;)
