Book review by Robert Allen - The Big Unda by Nolcha Fox

Book - The Big Unda

Author - Nolcha Fox

Rating - 

Review:

Some poets are just funny. They bring their wit, and when it’s grounded with feeling, it’s a fine mix for poetry. Nolcha Fox does just this. Her book, “The Big Unda (Alien Buddha Press, 2022) will do more than make you smile, it will make you feel– about the intricacies of marriage, the aspects of lost childhood, or taking out the trash at night. Daily things.

She describes herself as someone “when not covered in dogs or tangled in yarn, a poet, editor of several forums, an accidental interviewer, and faker of fake news.” Even her bio makes you smile.

Fox’s verse is a place of playfulness, with deeper meaning. In this she is aligned with a poet like Stevie Smith–the poems have a depth that moves beyond farce, beyond jokes.

In “Way Weirder” she says “I’m way weirder/than you realize./This smile isn’t all of me.” This mirrors many of her poems.

“If you eat crayons”, she writes, “your dreams will be/brightly colored.” The world is ugly and needs “bright fictions”, a strong image. She ends by warning us of the hazards of eating crayons, a comic touch that comes as no surprise.

Nolcha Fox is not only a comic writer. It’s just that many of her poems have a humor that is uniquely hers. But she can also write with greater seriousness.

In “Dig Deeper” she writes, “A marriage is like this:/the first year peel off the skin.” or in “Knowing Better” “God created angels/for people like us.” No lightness here, just depth of feeling.

Nolcha Fox has had a busy year with more than one book publication. “Can you catch me?” she asks in a poem. We’ve caught her in this book. I recommend reading “The Big Unda” as Nolcha has shown herself to be funny when necessary, serious when necessary, and insightful in her verse. She’s a pleasure to read.