Sad Girl Poems

by Christopher Soto

Christopher Soto (aka Loma) is a queer latin@ punk poet & prison abolitionist. Their first chapbook Sad Girl Poems delves into their relationship with domestic violence, queer youth homelessness, & the suicide of a close friend. Of the chapbook, Eileen Myles wrote "Sad Girl Poems are revolutionary and sad and finely wrought on the fly… I keep reading, needing to be living in the world of them.” CAConrad wrote “You are an asshole if you read this book and are not destroyed and renewed and see through the poet Loma a way to redemption for us all.” Christopher Soto is originally from the Los Angeles area but now lives in Brooklyn.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, Latinx, LGBT

45 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2016

Reviews

[Martin Ott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this on a flight in one sitting. Really good first chapbook from a poet to watch out for. The lines and subject matter are devastating and intense. The only thing for me keeping it from 5 stars was a tendency of the author to mix fantastic lines poetry with the occasional line that read more like part of an essay. Can't wait for the next book.

[Jerrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

[There is so much here]

Loma has built a home [in these poems].

Loma makes us laugh [that everything is burning and we had not noticed] and we feel [bad] [but not enough].

A wonderful [wonderful, wonderful, wonderful] debut.

So much heartbreak [so little time]

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was first aware of Soto through their poem on the Orlando tragedy, which is the only poem I've read about the recent terror attacks that seemed to capture, to any degree, what had happened. It was an emotional and personal response to the tragedy, and the style of writing felt new and intriguing.

I then read some of the poems featured in this collection online, and I had the same response. Soto faces trauma head on, and their responses are controlled but emotional. The poems aren't not easy reads - nor are they intended to be - but they are powerful pieces I would highly recommend.

On reading this chapbook, I wasn't struck by quite the same feelings about the writing. There are undoubtedly powerful and shocking moments in the poetry, but reading some of the poems a second time, or discovering some of the new ones, didn't seem to have quite the same effect. This might not be for any particular reason, it might be because some of the poems are stronger than others, or it could be that I was overpowered by Soto's Preface. The Preface is essentially a political statement on poetry and on their work; it attempts to jolt you into action. Telling you to do more than just read the poetry and write a review - it's encouraging you to contribute. It's entirely the right thing to say, but it's possible it actually overshadows the tenderness that's contained in the poems.

But my initial reaction to Soto's work will stay with me, and I fully expect to return to 'Sad Girl Poems' in the future, and rediscover their power. I'll continue to follow Soto with a keen interest, and would highly highly recommend discovering some of their poetry, and hope that it strikes you in the same way it did me.

His poem about Orlando can be found here: http://lithub.com/all-the-dead-boys-l...

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

CAConrad wrote “You are an asshole if you read this book and are not destroyed and renewed and see through the poet Loma a way to redemption for us all.”

I guess I'm an asshole then.

The flute professor at my college believed that undergraduates shouldn't be allowed to perform Mozart. He was an asshole too. To his credit, he had to endure hundreds of miserable auditions and jury evaluations throughout his career.

People under 30 shouldn't be allowed to write poetry. Maybe that's too strong a statement. But right now I feel that I understand that professor.

[Jade Darr · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's passionate and raw with some striking imagery sprinkled throughout. It's urgent and painful. It feels young and unapologetically (odd to say bc loma is constantly apologizing in this chapbook, in different ways) unpolished.

I was personally struck far more by the introduction and context than the work itself. The ache to write a universal sadness is the most intriguing aspect of this chapbook, and it helps to clarify why the images and plot - both in single poems and arching as a whole - are very direct and familiar. Crying, police lights, belts as representation for domestic abuse and suicide, wings - loma is using the most basic language and symbols of the past to communicate their sadness, to make it universal.

The aim and the execution certainly match. The chapbook's language is anything but fresh or new. The emotion and pain here is undeniable and it's enough to make me question if it's fair to demand originality from something that so wants to have unoriginal language and phrases rightly apply to it. But the draw of poetry for me is how it can twist language, both written and thought, into new patterns. Here, it's new pain communicated through tired language. I almost felt desentitized through loma's language to his pain, which feels like the opposite of what this chapbook is supposed to do.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

the poem loma read from their phone was so good
but these poems they said they hated,
I liked them but I would understand why
if I were loma - red lights criminal queer -
pocket lana del rey summertime
sad girl poems

I googled more poems by loma
and got so excited =/= happiness?
more like just these
vibrations

[Boustrophedon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Notable for containing some of the worst lines of poetry I've ever read:

If our love, is a trash bag
Please, don’t let it tear.

This is what the multi-million dollar MFA industry produces. The random, illiterately placed comma is a thing of awe. I do like the book's cover though.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible work. Especially captivated by the metacognition about the relationship of identity to poem-making, but also so, so gutted by the incredible lyricism and figuration of this chapbook. Very excited to read more Loma.

[Jesselyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soto's poems land like a punch and leave the reader breathless. A must read for fan's of Saeed Jones or Richard Siken.

[Ella Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This itty bitty book of poetry punches above its weight. I read it on the beach one day and it only took me about 25 minutes in total. It tells the story of a queer man, presumably Christopher Soto (also known by the name Loma), who is grieving a lover named Rory. He has a troubled and strained relationship with his father. He's lived through homelessness and the snobbishness/naïveté of people who assume that homelessness is some faraway problem that they (and their peers) will never deal with firsthand. Loma is an outsider and demands that those of us on the inside fight to make the world a more inclusive place, that we actually act against inequity. This is a powerful attribute in a writer and one I hope to emulate as effectively.
In the introduction, the author talks about who this book is "for" and the struggles of writing anything for someone in particular because you can't keep others from reading and finding meaning in the work that you make, even if it wasn't made with them in mind. I know this book isn't for me but I really value it as something that moved me and painted a portrait of queerness that is different from my own.
I thought some parts of it read a little too much like a diary with enjambment. The trouble with writing something so close to you is that things that are precious for the author aren't always as precious to the reader, at least not without the proper context to teach the reader why we should treat it tenderly.
It's a really great introduction to Loma's work and I would highly recommend it! I love getting to read work like this and think we'll all be seeing more of Soto's work in the world.

[Laura Joakimson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lines & stories of this poet will haunt you. This, more than Catcher in the Rye, describes what it means to be young, in love; traumatized by the world around you.

The introduction contains unforgettable lines.... "I always wanted to be a sad white girl. I wanted to be sad like Lana Del Rey. I wanted a sadness so universal, it'd move everyone to tears. A sadness everyone could relate to. 'I want a summertime, summertime sadness...'"

And "REVOLUTIONARY FOR WHOM???!!!"

The vulnerability of the poems are intended to create action. "I want people to act." "Don't just feel bad about our stories, consume us & spit us out."

I read this in 2018. I read it as a book I wish I'd read at 18. Poems that are alive on the page and in the world. We read to better understand what it is to be human & this book takes you closer. "Make a proper home. Just listen to my chest."

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not entirely sure how I feel about this but I think in large part that was due to the format of it (very small with small print). These are powerful poems, for sure, and I liked the phrasing. Not sure about the structure of them and that's where I think I got stuck by the size.

[Alyssandra O’Hearn (Schwind) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally am rating this a two solely because I did not get this poetry book other than there’s a lot of heavy topics covered in it. Other than that, it is a SUPER easy read and there’s no way why one wouldn’t finish it in one sitting.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought I would love this. I wanted to love this. I tried. It wasn't enough. I wasn't moved.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was about a real specific kind of experience which while very important to write about was not one that i can identify with in any way so it was only three stars for me

[Lzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief, painful, vivid. Like a lightning strike or accidentally stabbing a fork in your metal filling.

[Selena jagmohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the best 💕

[willowdog · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one angry man. Teen love is made wrong by family, and one of them kills self. In the end, there is no resolution to the anger; there is only unhappiness. Forward speaks of UDP Undocumented Poets as never getting a fair shake in the publishing arena or by the reviews. Maybe this is because the works aren’t very good. It is sort of supportive-Trump argument--If only the reviewers were minorities, we would get a fair shake.

[Shan Bae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes you out of yourself and places you in a scene that is already happening. When opening the book you are engulfed in emotions you may have not known existed or have felt before but in the end your heart grieved. In a short span of pages you hurt, you love, you hurt again, and you heal.