The Junta of Happenstance

by Tolu Oloruntoba

Personal, primordial, and pulsing with syncopated language, Tolu Oloruntoba’s poetic debut, The Junta of Happenstance, is a compendium of dis-ease. This includes disease in the traditional sense, as informed by the poet’s time as a physician, and dis-ease as a primer for family dysfunction, the (im)migrant experience, and urban / corporate anxiety. In the face of struggles against social injustice, Oloruntoba navigates the contemporary moment with empathy and intelligence, finding beauty in chaos, and strength in suffering. The Junta of Happenstance is an important and assured debut.

Genres: Poetry, Canada

104 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2021

About the author

Tolu Oloruntoba was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and practiced medicine before his current work managing projects for BC health authorities.

His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Harvard Divinity Bulletin, PRISM International, Pleiades, Columbia Journal Online, Obsidian, The Maynard, and the Humber Literary Review, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

His debut chapbook, Manubrium, was published by Anstruther Press, and was shortlisted for the 2020 bpNichol Chapbook Award.

A full-length collection of his poetry, The Junta of Happenstance, is forthcoming from Anstruther Books in Spring 2021.

He lives in Surrey, BC, in the territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, and Kwantlen First Nations.

Reviews

[Anne-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across Tolu Oloruntoba's work online and was intrigued by the descriptions of his poetry enoguh to pick it up from the library.

His debut collection was beautiful imagery and I liked a lot of individual lines or verses. In particularly, his word use was clever and evocative.

However, I had a hard time grasping the intent and overall message of many poems. I'm sure it's me (as poetry interpretation is not my strength) but it made for a more opaque reading experience than I was hoping for. I think having someone guide me through the poems - whether in a classroom setting or just in conversation with someone more well versed in poetry would have been helpful, personally.

I particularly appreciated the poems tackling the themes of medicine and dis/ease as well as the im/migrant experiences. They both stood out the most and had the more obvious meanings to be inferred.

If you're interested in more Canadian poetry, or poetry focusing on the above mentioned themes, I'd recommend checking out this Governor General finalist collection.

My favourite poems include:
Part I:
Mantis Corps
Tinderbox
A History of Treachery
Medical Seances

Part II:
Optic Chiasm
Sieve
Hired Hands
Settlers' Effects

Part III:
The Creation of Man
Continental Want
When Migrants Gather to Enjoy
Bloodlettings
Ballroom

Part IV:
Emerging
Medicine

[David Ly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent debut, and finalist for the Governor General Literary Awards! I had the pleasure of interviewing Tolu for PRISM international a while back: http://prismmagazine.ca/2021/07/29/a-.... A must-read.

[Aidan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spellbinding collection. A must read book of poetry.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I keep reading modern poetry. I try my best to understand it, but my experience ranges from poems that just seem like interesting thoughts (i.e. Rupi Kuar), to poetry that is absolutely incomprehensible to me. This book was in the latter category. I think my poetic tastes run more to the old stuff - Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson et al.

[Carrie Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection blew my mind, and I am questioning everything I have ever done as a poet. I'm going to chew on this book for a while, because there is so much depth and so many layers to these works that they require time to process. I borrowed a copy from my local library to initially access the book, and now I have a copy on order. Read this book immediately. You won't regret it.

[Debashis Dey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully crafted and deeply reflective.
These poems trace lineage, illness, and memory with both precision and softness.

[Penn Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, complex poems that worry themselves out of dis/ease into clarity.

“We remain
improbable
around this clatter
of smiles—
discussing death.”
“Amplitude”