Rom Com

by Dina Del Bucchia, Daniel Zomparelli

At precisely the cultural moment you were hoping for, a dream team of smart, sexy, brunette, West Coast poets of Italian descent has passionately co-authored an intelligent collection of poetry that both celebrates and capsizes the romantic comedy.

From the origin of the genre ( It Happened One Night ) to its contemporary expressions ( Love Actually ), the poems in Rom Com trace the attempt to deconstruct as well as engage in dialogue with romantic comedy films and the pop culture, celebrities, and tropes that have come to be associated with them. These irreverent, playful, weird, and comedic poems come in a variety of forms, fully engaging in pop culture, without a judgmental tone. They see your frumpy expectations and raise you issues of sexuality, consent, sexism, homophobia, race, and class. They explore the highs and lows of romantic relationships and the expectations and realities of love, tackling real emotional worlds through the lens of film.

Two cool people wrote it. Dina Del Bucchia, the fashionable and voluptuous, is a woman on the go, brazenly hosting literary events and tweeting about otters and award shows. Daniel Zomparelli, the handsome and dashing, is a young, gay man-about-Vancouver who somehow also quietly edits (in chief) a semi-annual poetry journal. (Ship them all you want, fools.)

How to tell if you are compatible with this Are you equally versed in literature and pop culture? Are you a film-savvy fan of contemporary poetry? Are you an academic with interest in literature and cultural studies? Are you in general a cool, sad person? This book might just be the sassy best friend you’ve wanted.

Genres: Poetry, Humor, Canada, Romance

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2015

Reviews

[Daniel Zomparelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the half that Dina wrote. XOXO

[Kaeli Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADORE this collection. The many different forms of poems are modern, light and funny, and the pop culture references, if you get them (and honestly even when you don’t— I haven’t seen all of these Rom coms) make this a hilarious and fun book. It fits into a list of books that you might see reviewed as “like reading a note from your best friend” (as I believe The Princess Diaries was once reviewed. If you like The Princess Diaries, you’ll probably like Rom Com).

But it’s not all fun and games. This collection also tackles some heavy and heartbreaking themes; you’re laughing and crying at the same time. O the joy and discomfort of self-recognition! One of my favourite sections in the book is a series of poems from the POV of secondary characters in Rom coms, usually best friends. I would read an entire anthology of Best Friend poems. You remember the blonde lady in Bridesmaids who says “I cracked a blanket in HALF!” I did not expect to have a little cry about her. But reader, I did.

[Jakelene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear to god that this collection is the funniest and most intelligent thing I have read this year. I was genuinely laughing out loud at this book, and I'm dying to just rewatch all my favourite rom coms.

An amazing analysis of popular culture and relationships - there is something for everyone in this book.

[Andy Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this short co-authored book of poetry. There is a lot going on here, but their riffing on the themes and characters of the rom com genre was fun & sometimes sad. The exploration of main & supporting characters reminded me of Steve Martin's "Lolita at 50".

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book of poetry was funny and clever. The poems are all based around relationships and romantic comedies.

And apparently, I've seen many, many romantic comedies, because I got a lot of the references in thsi book.

[Brittany Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the poems didn't resonate with me simply because I hadn't seen the movie or source of inspiration. However, many that I did understand had me laughing out loud! These poems are diverse and fun to read. I highly recommend this wonderful collection.

[Dina Bucchia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel wrote the best poems in this book! xo

[Heike Lettrari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was clever and funny, and brought a whole different light to my guilty enjoyment of rom coms. I don't watch them that often, and when I do it's usually with my sister/at her request, but having a poet's eyes on these movies was just great.

Also -- light-hearted poetry is super fun to read! I laughed out loud in the bathtub and reading this collection of poems, I will likely write out a couple to share with friends in letters. I can't express just how much I enjoyed it. But -- you've also got your alliteration and good line breaks and the technical elements of solid poetry.

Absolutely no regrets about picking up this collection.

[Dna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why, but books of poetry seldom render properly on Hoopla Digital. This makes reading poetry on Hoopla difficult and it really compromises my enjoyment of the content. My eyes get tired trying to figure out where something begins and ends, which line is the title. It's really too bad, because there is a lot of fresh poetry on Hoopla that I can't find in my library catalogue. :(

[df parizeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of poetry that I would undoubtedly appreciate more, if I had a better grasp of Rom-Coms. That said, there are some real gems in here and it's refreshing to read a collection of poems from authors who aren't afraid to put their skills to use writing about one of the more frivolous aspects of society.

[Nicole Crucial · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely changed how I view poetry (e.g., from "oh, poetry is pretentious and inaccessible" to "oh, poetry has so much heart and humor"). I highly recommend it to any human.

[Megan Hodgson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the thing that you never knew you needed, and the one you dream of being able to write one day. I adored it.

[Elin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terribly uneven, but when it was good it was great.

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collection cracked me up. It also made me sad & sometimes frustrated with the genre, but mostly it was funny and fun (wait, I think I've seen that movie...)

[Brandon Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upon heading into this collection I expected the clever playfulness, but did not expect to have an unacknowledged wound healed, which is exactly what happened when I reached the poem about I now pronounce you chuck & Larry. If you know you know. If only society at large could see that Rob Schneider is adam Sandler's shadow creature, exposing the bleak toxic chasm within both