A Student of Melancholy

A short collection of poetry, written over the course of 15 years, from teen years through early adulthood, A Student of Melancholy is the first publication from author Marlene D. Pennington. The first time I shared a poem with my father at the age of 30, I commented on how melancholic it was. He responded by saying, ‘you’re a student of Poe.’ And it’s true. Edgar Allan Poe has been the author that I turn to time and again when my reality feels fuzzy and my feet feel unsteady. There is something in the bleakness of his writing that calms me, something familiar in the gray tones of his language. It feels like home. I’ve never considered myself a poet. Poetry is something I have historically only written when I can’t form coherent thoughts, when my world turns upside down. It took a cosmic coincidence for me to meet someone who would ultimately encourage and inspire me to share my words with people; someone to show me that perhaps my ability to convene with the darker shadows in my mind wasn’t such a bad thing. I have never titled a poem, the exception to this being the last poem in this collection. It is the first and only poem I have ever written that came to mind complete with title. I choose to date them instead, but I omit the year they were written. This is my first collection of poetry and prose. I hope to not inspire, but rather to comfort. I hope you find comfort in the shadows, as I have.