For most of my life I reveled in the gloom to be found in music. I loved the way melodies and lyricism could make you feel the same way the artist must have felt at the peak of their supposed sorrow. Unfortunately, leaning on everybody else’s melancholy left me miserable and, at the time, I couldn’t figure out why. I hadn’t realized their words had left me under a big gray cloud or that it was on me to also seek out joy in the art I consumed. At my most desolate, a new friend shared with me something I had never expected to find pleasure in: K-POP.
So, I share with you an album that shovelled me out of the pits of despair with its bright energy and playfulness: SEVENTEEN’s Face the Sun. Music doesn’t always have to be fun, but it also doesn’t always have to fill you with dread. Face the Sun allowed me to do exactly that—face the warmth in this very humble existence, like allowing the toasty rays to seep over your form after the clouds disperse.
— Britt Corcoran (she/they) is a proud graduate of the Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing at Sheridan College and current managing editor of Book*hug Press. A queer, disabled writer and book-lover hailing from Miramichi, NB, Britt now lives in Oakville, ON, with four pets and their partner. “frankie” is their very first publication!
You can read Britt Corcoran’s poem "frankie" in Issue 308 (Summer 2026) Disability: The Revolution. Order the issue now:
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