Up Close: “no apologies for my delayed response” by Nova Cypress Black

In April 2020, less than two weeks into New York State’s stay-at-home order, Nova Cypress Black began to write a poem a day as a way to mark not only the time in isolation but also as part of National Poetry Month. In “no apologies for my delayed response,” Black records readings of five of these poems, each presented unedited as first written. By reacting to emotions, headlines, and the empty niceties of workplace culture (like email salutations hoping “all is well”), Black evokes the longing, loneliness, and loss brought on by the city’s lockdown, as well as the economic stresses and abuses of capitalism’s unrelenting drive to productivity. "Up Close" is a digital series that invites artists and creative thinkers to contribute new artworks and discussions exploring what it means to think about the world and make art right now.