I have so much to say about this perfectly worded title, but I’ll get to that part later. First, the basics: this book is full of found poetry. That means the author takes already written “works” and deletes a majority of the words, leaving perfected prose in the wake of her destruction.
Source Material
Where is her content coming from? Kate Baer uses all kinds of source material for her work:
- comments left on her blog posts/poems
- commercial advertisements
- hate email
- love email
- news articles
Since this is not her first book of poetry, some people even include in their comments how they know it might end up published in a book of her poems. See below for a great example.
The Passive Aggressive Title
It’s from all the messages she’s received with “I hope this finds you well” as the first line. Now, what you get beyond that line is entirely up in the air. It’s a clichéd, thrown-around phrase that ironically is often followed by nastiness despite the seemingly kind words.
The variety of poems you’ll find in the book is similarly up in the air with the tone and purpose. Some are in response to kind and supportive emails she’s received over the years. Some are perfectly snarky and fight to refute whatever hateful nonsense was in the original email or comment.
What you won’t find here, is name-calling or hate fighting against hate. There’s subtle snark in some of her poetry, but mostly it’s positive and encouraging and what we need more of in this world.
Why It’s on This Blog
Baer is a woman who dares to talk about–and make money by talking about–the hardships of being a woman. She confronts and calls out toxic masculinity and the damages that come from the patriarchy. In doing so, she frequently gets comments and email from men.
They often write in thinking they are really putting Baer in her place, telling her how wrong she is and how right they are for thinking and acting the way that they do (see above example). And unfortunately, the topic of most communication, is women. Their place, their purpose, their body, their experiences, etc. Unknowingly, these men call themselves out in their own messages. And Baer, with a few deletions of all those extra words, creates feminist poetry from the drivel.
Final Thoughts
There is something immensely satisfying about seeing the same words that spewed negativity, used instead to spread hope and encouragement. I know poetry intimidates some, but I assure you this is not your run of the mill poetry. It’s accessible, and I’ll hope you’ll give it a try. Your soul and your sanity will thank you.