Bargain Bin Rom-Com

by Leena Norms

#CasualFridays: one of the books I’ve read throughout the week that aren’t particularly closely related to climate change, but I’d like to highlight anyway.


Leena Norms has been one of the few creators to grace my subscription list on YouTube. I am not always the intended audience (as video essays are not always my jam), but when I do click on one, her life philosophies shine through beautifully—philosophies that are well thought-out, considerate, and inherently empathetic whilst not veering into the side of overly optimistic, intensely saccharine toxic positivity. Not to mention, a fantastic taste in books--every recommendation she’s ever given that I’ve been able to read thus far has been impeccable. When I saw the release of her first full poetry collection, Bargain Bin Rom-Com, I leapt to pre-order it. I devoured it in one sun-soaked meadow after work, the warmth emanating from its pages keeping me absorbed even as the day winked over the park’s trees.


Norms has commented on the climate crisis in the past, and it is clear she understands the far-reaching ramifications of it, the complex ways the effects of it will increasingly leach into our lives. Her collection contains a few poems that directly relate to the climate crisis, which rank highly in my favourites—“In The Event Of Zombies” and “Beer Garden In Three Degrees of Warming” are gentle, beautiful exposes in what it means to carry the heavy weight of the knowledge of climate crisis through your every day life, how it can buoy (or disconnect) you from your every day and the people in it.


Outside of the poems that directly touch on it, the rest of the collection consists of themes that are relevant still to climate crisis (“Text Back” is a onomatopoeic tour-de-force of what it means to communicate, how technology shapes us, but how we in turn immediately seize it, hold it ransom until it serves us right back, in order to reach out to one another; “Bad News Square” is a mirror of the masses of news and social media we take in daily, with all the implications that holds; “The Reward for Excellence Can No Longer Be Money” is a scathing indictment on capitalism), as well as the author chewing through what the pandemic has been like to experience in England, and simple reflections on modern daily life. To find media that touches upon the pandemic in such a gentle, understanding way, feels imperative at the moment. The sensation that we are hurtling from one out-of-control scenario to another one will harden some to denial of the scope of issues climate change will create, and also prevent effective action, as people are still struggling (mostly silently) to work through the experienced collective trauma of 2020-2021, if not even the individual difficulties experienced.


The depth of emotion Bargain imparts is due mostly to the excellent line breaks used by Norms, as well as unique, strong metaphors. The latter is sometimes slightly overused, with some poems veering slightly toward naive and trite. Overall though, most poems are constructed with just the right balance between punchy force and sweetness of language. This makes Bargain so recommendable—even if you are not used to poetry, even if the last time you touched poetry it was an Enlightenment-era two page affair taught by a teacher who couldn’t explain metaphor properly. This is not dreary, or packed with references you need unique, niche knowledge to access, or officiously preaching in any way. This is a beautiful, readable, contemporary way of connecting to readers—a la Dolly Alderton, but simply: in poetry, not a novel. Norms herself has published a video addressing reading poetry if you are new to it, so if I can’t convince you, perhaps the author herself can.


I am already looking forward to another edition of Norms’ poetry—the maturation of her talents can only bring about yet more elegant pieces of poetry in a world starved for this kind of clear-sighted beauty.


Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the great resources that Norms has created and curated regarding climate crisis:


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