It’s a Big Deal!

by Dina Del Bucchia

So many things seem like a BIG DEAL: fashionable clothes, food trends for healthfulness and coolness, personal turmoils, what someone else just said, the ever-charged political landscape, Instagram posts, extinct megafauna, avocado toast ... the list could - and does - go on and on. Quirky, wry, sensitive, bitchy, and honest, It's a Big Deal! interrogates the ways we interpret and process the big deals of our twenty-first-century lives. Del Bucchia's poetic voice is unique, delivering sharp humour and candid sincerity.

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2019

Reviews

[Daniel Zomparelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

As her number one fan I can say that this book does not disappoint. I say this as a complete stranger who definitely does not know Dina. Perfect book.

[df parizeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dina is a covert double-agent of the contemporary poetry world.

On the surface, her biggest strength as a writer is her quick wit and knack for the perfect comedic metaphor. But these are just tools that are used to infiltrate your gruff, discerning exterior. You may start your journey of reading this book with affirmative head nods, smirks, and quiet chuckles, but before long you will find yourself aching from the gentle gnawing in your heart caused by Dina's words.

"It's a Big Deal!" truly lives up to its name. It meditates on the innocuous and instructive and allows these moments to truly hold the weight we are so often told not to let them bear. More importantly, Dina's acerbic wit is the perfect conduit for the reader to access these thoughts, without having to dig through layers of complex metaphor.

And if that weren't enough, the final chapter of this book features beautiful odes to megagauna; how can you argue with that.

I truly love this book and I will come back to it whenever I feel like I am making a big deal out of nothing.

[Hasan Namir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hilarious, legit I laughed so loud as I was reading a bunch of poems. Dina has a magical way of combining wit, comedy, life lessons and seriousness in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening. I can’t recommend this book enough. I know I’ll be revisiting it often. Excellent on all levels.

[Kaitlin]

This was a very nice balm during siege week #1 in Canada. I would read it at night in bed and it gave me some good laughs and nice moments and made me think people aren't always so terrible and, reversely, maybe some things aren't really a big deal. (To be clear, the Ottawa occupation is, work is not).

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great poetry. I would highly recommend for the feminist palaeontologist in your life.

[Rebecca Rosenblum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart, funny, and a pure delight. I'm going to start giving this to people who don't think they could ever like poetry!

[Susan White · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know poetry could be like this!

Divided into four sections (Tips, Talk it Out, Big Ideas and Megafauna), the author's style varies according to the section. Tips alternates between free verse and lists with footnotes. The other sections include free verse and more structured poetic forms. Of the four sections, I think Megafauna might be my favourite simply for its unexpectedness. Megafauna meditates on very large extinct animals, and is frequently funny and often delightful. (Example from "Jefferson's Ground Sloth:" Jefferson stalked then married his name to you./Never one for assholes, you wouldn't have been interested.")

Del Bucchia's collection, "It's a Big Deal!" is funny and surprising but almost too contemporary at times. I didn't get a great sense of depth but I enjoyed reading it overall.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conceptually compelling; artistically technical.