A BOOK REVIEW BY CHRISSI SEPE
Christina Strigas is a Montreal poet who has published several poetry books, including Love & Vodka and Love & Metaxa. Her words are raw and honest, written in a stream-of-consciousness style, and they reveal the inner life of a woman in love, a brave mother, and a human being who seeks to see beauty in the simple, everyday things. Her newest poetry book, Love & Gaia, completes this trilogy, but rather than speaking the thoughts of a woman, this book is told through the point of view of our planet Earth.
All the poems in Love & Gaia were originally written by hand in Christina’s journal. Perhaps this method helped her get closer to our physical world than if she had used technology?
In Love & Gaia, our Earth has a voice. In one poem, the tree expresses its sorrow: “My cousin’s arms connected to mine. We were together for over four hundred years. I heard some humans and their machines coming closer, but we could not run.”
In another poem, the shells collected at the beach tell their feelings: “Take me out of the plastic bag that has killed my soul. Place me in a jar. People love to stare at me. Sometimes pick me up.”
Love & Gaia reminds us of our connection to the earth and prompts us to not take it for granted. Christina also dedicates a chapter to “Tea Leaves,” reciting how green tea is a natural elixir: “You make my mind stop tossing and turning. Somehow, I am calm when you are on my lips.”
As a special bonus, each chapter features black and white illustrations that perfectly complement the poems printed beside them. My favorite is a drawing of a tea bag personified. The tea bag’s clothes are its tag and string, and its hat is an upside down teacup.
Christina Strigas’ unique ode to nature is creative and refreshing. I have never read a poetry book like Love & Gaia, and I will never take nature for granted again.
(Photo of Christina Strigas)
Christina’s book can be purchased at Amazon, here, and at Barnes & Noble, here.
Chrissi Sepe’s most recent appearance at Fast Pop was here.
Thank you for this amazing review. I am so grateful!!
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