what if feels like to be run over

In what it feels like to be run over, Kate LaDew resets the metrics of what contemporary poetry can do. Structured as a fractured, non-linear near-almanac of forty specific dates-spanning from 712 CE to our anxious modern moment -this collection acts as a visceral archive of the bodies, voices, and species flattened by the heavy machinery of history.

LaDew's lens is wide yet intimate. With an earned, meticulous attention to detail, she juxtaposes, e.g., the mythos of the Kennedy wedding with the uncredited brilliance of Black fashion designer Ann Lowe . She traces the silent, tragic extinction of the Great Auk in 1844, stands with Joan of Arc at the pyre , and perfectly captures the creeping, systemic terrors of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns .

Through it all, LaDew writes with a fierce refusal to coddle the reader, demanding we look closely at the quiet tragedies and sudden, beautiful survivals that define the human condition. Written in a singular, uncompromised vernacular that throws much of traditional formatting out the window, what it feels like to be run over is an avant-garde triumph. It is a striking, deeply tactile experience for anyone who has ever felt the heavy weight of the world, offering a reminder that you are not alone on the tracks.