Book Review: Plum Stuff by Rolli

By Sara Halleman

As a literary buff, I must admit that I sometimes find poetry a bit of a struggle. Perhaps it’s the lack of poetic material in my education or my "Just say what you mean!" mentality. Either way I have to say that I was drawn to Plum Stuff by Rolli. The colorful cover work and delicious title drew me in like Alice chasing a white rabbit and the collection itself was nothing short of Wonderland.

There is a lot to admire with Rolli’s debut work. The 116 pages of poetic wonder are broken up into nine sections. Each section is categorized by the subject matter. These subjects range from the bewitching to the philosophical, the literate to the illiterate, the English to the Egyptian. All of these sections offer something different to admire and explore. My personal favorite was the section "Things Pathological." Here, Rolli’s work matches the sections title, in a good way.

Rolli brought something to this collection that I hadn’t seen before. Every once in a while there was a break from the traditional poetry and a short dialogue would be included. Some were as short as two lines while others went on several pages. Whatever the length, these dialogues added a unique and often humorous touch, to the collection.

Another interesting addition was the author’s original artwork. Rolli spices up his poetry with sketches that coincide with his words. The drawings give the reader a chance to connect more with Rolli and his imaginative mind.

Rolli’s creativity shines in this debut work. His content is witty and bizarre and will leave readers entertained. There is a lot to digest in Plum Stuff, but there is no doubt, after reading it, you'll walk away full and satisfied.