David Ly is a “poet, novelist, and editor,” as well as Peak alum. His most recent work, Ritual, Interrupted, is described as a “poetic grimoire.” Through imagery that is simultaneously dark and hopeful, Ly’s words conjure emotions I have felt and thought I was alone in experiencing.
From the first poem, “Incant,” I was intrigued by Ly’s honest and powerful writing style: “these words aren’t magic — at / best / they’re doorways, black / portals where the summoned will / stay.”
Writing about his experiences coping with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, Ly has created a beautiful, self-reflective collection of art. Ritual, Interrupted focuses on showing oneself compassion during and following mental health crises. Following its publication, The Peak spoke with Ly to learn more about the book and the process behind its writing.
When you’re struggling with an invisible illness related to mental health, it can be an almost out-of-body experience, making it difficult to explain how you’re feeling; as Ly expresses, it can feel “inhuman.” Thus, Ly shared that he draws inspiration from “animals, alive and extinct,” as evidenced by the bird on the cover, illustrated by Jess Stanley, which Ly interpreted as symbolizing desire. “The bird is grounded, not in flight. Yet, there are these awesome trails of liquid lifting from the feathers and out of the mouth and eyeball,” he explained. “The desire to be in flight is literally seeping from it.”
Ly reflected, “I wanted to write poems that were fully immersed in narratives of living with depression, anxiety, and how my imagination helps me cope.” He recalled how many poems came to be “sitting within depressive episodes, or the numbing post-anxiety stressful periods.”
Ly’s collection is divided into three sections, which he explained: “‘Summon’ is an invitation; a calling forth of the things feared [ . . . ] ‘Sever’ then becomes a section of disconnect: trying to distance ourselves from feelings of distress. Then, ‘Resurrect’ is the final section representing rebirth, the realization that life can continue after mental health crises.”
The theme across sections is the concept of interruption. Specifically, how mental disorders can flare-up in the everyday, often at inconvenient times. Ly emphasized how coping strategies are different for everyone, and highlighted a misconception “that there are set coping strategies that we can apply (easily, more or less) [in moments of crisis/struggle].”
For instance, deep breathing can be a stress-reducing exercise for some, but Ly expressed that for him, it’s “extremely hard to do.” He elaborated, “If anything, it makes me more frazzled that I have to count on my inhales and exhales.”
The poem “Conjurebeast” emphasizes this idea: “Four seconds on the inhale, then six / to breathe out while holding yourself / together. You’ve never been this / ravenous to break loose.”
“Even if after the interruption we are, or feel a bit different, it is still a continuation of who we are and what we can be, despite fearing that we are not enough.”
— David Ly, poet, novelist, and editor
Ly concluded, “To me, interruption hinges on the possibility of a ‘resuming.’ Even if after the interruption we feel a bit different, it is still a continuation of who we are and what we can be, despite fearing that we are not enough.”
Ritual, Interrupted can be purchased at local bookstores.
