JYBS 7: Mathias Svalina's "Wastoid"

Purchased: Thrift Books

Recommended By: Valerie Loveland, who subscribes to Svalina's newsletter.

Pages Of Poetry: 154

Recommended For: Readers who enjoy writing that's quirky, and full of fantastic images and wordplay but which is also incredibly approachable. All of the poems in this book are a paragraph long. While it's fun to read the book as a whole experience, it's just as satisfying to pick it up and read a page or two at random.

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My fiancé is the answer to a crossword puzzle. 25 Across: Who loves you unconditionally but never reads the poetry or graphic novels you recommend. He is one letter away from the  solution to yesterday's Wordle. I don't want to spoil it for you. When I stack books for potential purchase in whatever store is closest to wherever public transportation has taken us, he hunts imaginary monsters on his phone, saving the ones he thinks I'd be most interested in exchanging. Often, we hunt these cartoonish fictional monsters together. We are some peoples' idea of fictional monsters. Similar gender representation, different ages and physical attributes. They read a thousand year old children's anthology that was edited last century to claim people in similar-gender-relationships were monsters. Their judgement can't be trusted. I do trust Mathias Svalina's judgement. His lover is similar gender representation. Apart from that, I know nothing of either of them except what's in this book. I have read it twice. Each time I left with different Favorite Poems. There isn't a page in this book that I don't like. 

Prompts

1. Wastoid. What animal or insect is the person you love the most? How are they similar? How are they different? How would you treat them if they were actually this animal?

2. Wastoid. What does the person you love create, either as a job or hobby? What part of them does that speak to? Is that type of creation something you have in common or is it something you wouldn't be at all interested in if they didn't do it?

3. Wastoid. A man gives birth to something very unusual. A ferris wheel, a dining room table, a fish tank full of docile pirahna. Forget the why and the how, tell us about this thing they birthed. Why is it so important?

4. Wastoid. A part of your body that is neither the heart nor the brain falls in love with a piece of art. Describe the experience.

5. Wastoid. You and the person you love the most are separated by a mile but following the same path. What do you do if you are ahead of them, to let them know you love them. If they are ahead of you, what have they left behind for you and/or where is the journey taking you?

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Where You Can Buy This Book: Big Lucks Books

What You Should Read After:
James Gendron's Sexual Boat (Sex Boats)
​Kaleb Rae Candrilli's Water I Won't Touch
Phoebe Gianissi's Cicada
Catherine Cohen's God I Feel Modern Tonight
Bridget Lowe's My Second Work​