Yes or Nope

Funny and frank, playful and unpredictable, frequently outrageous and undeniably smart–Meaghan Strimas’s poems explore the lives of girls, women, and a few bad men who maybe wish they were a little better. Strimas tackles the darkest and most disturbing subjects with a sense of humour that never fails to find evidence of a grand, cosmic joke. Bad relationships, unhealthy friendships, and creepy neighbours abound in this lively collection, which is as compulsively readable as it is emotionally unsettling. Oh, and there’s a poem about hog-farming, too. The poetry in Yes or Nope is whip-smart and tenderhearted, funny and alive–Strimas at her brilliant best. I didn’t want it to end. –Zoe Whittall, author of The Best Kind of People Wry and furious, scathing and saucy, Meaghan Strimas tells the stories about us you always feared were true. Stuck through with charming moments, but make no mistake: these poems have no time for the lies we tell ourselves. Yes or Nope is bone-sharp, bang-up, revelatory–a pupil-dilating meditation on growing up and growing old female. This is a book to keep at your bedside, like a flashlight; a book that will keep you safe, and whisper: You are not alone. –Elisabeth de Mariaffi, author of The Devil You Know