Her Dark Everything

Part elegy to a friend who died by suicide, part love poem to a friend who continues to survive, Her Dark Everything is a collection that will pull you through the darkest depths until you feel the light against your skin. It will make you grieve for those who have lost the battle against the beast that is depression while simultaneously making you grateful for those who stay and fight. In equal measures dark and light, soft and sharp, Her Dark Everything will roost in your heart permanently.

***

If you blend radiance with darkness, hope with death then hope again, and tie them into a gorgeous friendship knot, you'll glimpse the brilliance of Courtney LeBlanc's Her Dark Everything. This collection, an elegy to her friend Paula and a love poem to her best friend Virginia, is nothing short of breathtaking. Few poets make me eagerly await their next book, but LeBlanc's edgy, funny, fierce, fearless, and engaging voice always delivers. LeBlanc's lines cut deep and resonate long after the page is turned: I know 2 women who have died by suicide + the year isn't over and I'm trying to write about joy, trying / to find honey in the words, trying / to lick it from my fingertips and let / it be enough. Her Dark Everything is a masterclass in balancing raw vulnerability with poignant celebration. This is a gorgeous and meaningful collection of poems that you won't be able to put down-and won't want to. Her Dark Everything is a testament to poetry's power to heal, transform, and find light and beauty even in the darkest times.

Kelli Russell Agodon, author of Dialogues with Rising Tides

In her fourth, full-length poetry collection, Her Dark Everything, Courtney LeBlanc approaches grief, friendship & what it means to be human with tenderness and candor. These revelatory poems include experimental forms and traditional elegies, all characterized by universal, timeless questions about what it means to be human in a world that often annihilates us. What if we had been able to save a friend lost to suicide? What if we "demanded more" of life? What if the pills went "unswallowed?" These poems confront loss and survival, yes-but they also ask us to consider whether we are making the most of our own lives in the time that we have-and if not, why not?

Joan Kwon Glass, author of Daughter of Three Gone Kingdoms and Night Swim

Her Dark Everything is the masterful fourth collection Courtney LeBlanc brings to readers in a poignant exploration of grief and self-acceptance, weaving enormous loss with the broader theme of embracing one's inner darkness. LeBlanc's poetry captures the raw, visceral experience of mourning a friend gone tragically too soon, using everyday objects like poetry workshops and black nail polish, and moments as powerful symbols of memory, nostalgia, and emotion. Her language is both delicate and fierce, as she paints lyrical scenes for readers into the intimate process of grappling with sorrow and seeking brightness in the midst of despair. Courtney LeBlanc's collection is a testament to the power of poetry to heal and transform, and ultimately, provides the blueprint on hope. Bree Bailey, author of Wailing on Whisper Street