Pop

by Banu

POP rummages through the stale Cheetos after the love poem: what remains? What never existed to begin with? The book invites the reader to journey both forward and backward in time, to retrace steps, solve word searches, hold pages to the light. POP delineates the intensities of a volatile relationship through a variety of lenses. As the speaker tries to anchor her experience, she is met with a clamour of perspectives: it is a junk food fight of poetic styles, each line fried and seasoned using recipes passed down for generations; it is a sad clown's skincare routine; it is a singalong, a cartoonish cacophony of pots and puns. The speaker shakes the love poem for all it's worth, leaving behind a trail of lint, wrappers, fibs, and soap foam, but opening up enough space to move in herself.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[naviya]

- this was a fun, kinda sad book and i enjoyed it very much
- pop culture! millennial ~ennui~, ssris, cheetos, toxic relationships
- i liked how the poems felt super casual and easy to read // no pretty ~poetic~ one liners but cohesive imagistic(?) poems
- a lil section of the poem as a pet / something to be taken care of was v cool

- fav poems: how to remove clown makeup, intervention, all of it in theory, earworm poems, this sport makes me tired

[Leila Kazeminejad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pop plays with the different meanings behind the three letter word, giving shape to a relationship and later a break-up from what seems to be a pretentious theorist-obsessed wanker. Banu has some strong poems, a personal favourite is "Crook," but some are juvenile and feel pointless. Maybe she is highlighting the lifeblood of her relationship, how one day there are volatile insults, and another is just about Doritos and Cheetos.

I think it's very raw to admit that a break up is a story told by two people and led by hurt and a need to be right. I feel it now, I felt it before. I still think I'm right in my own story.

This book may need a re-read since the beginning feels a bit banal when you don't know what the story behind it is.

[Xylia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not usually a fan of poetry, but I really enjoyed Simina Banu’s writing. She’s someone I feel like I’d become friends with if we were ever to encounter each other at a mutual friend’s apartment get together. Also, I love all of her references to social theorists/philosophers.

[M]

Still trying to “find hope” in the puzzle but the fact that I searched for so many minutes means that hope is well and alive.

[Jason Ly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tasty snack of a book, nice use of humor and hand drawn things. Really liked, whole foods, halftime show, all of it in theory.

[Paul Danyluk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun to read and I loved the concrete poems and the interweaving of styles.