BY: O’Niel Barrington Blair
Yes Or Nope is the third book released by author Meaghan Strimas. With juggling work, poetry and family Strimas said shes always busy but happy with her fast paced life.
Strimas teaches writing at Humber College. She is married to Nathan Whitlock, a fellow author, who she has a son with.
Poems are a way of creating life on a page, she said. Strimas said she seeks to make her poems accessible to a lot of people while also not being afraid of getting gritty in her work. She’s not afraid to write on darker topics in her poetry. Such as her poem THIRTEEN, or SECURITY where she speaks on a vulnerable girl who is taken advantage of.
“There’s an anger in that it’s more about the relationship between men and women and in particular younger women and how they can be taken advantage of,” Strimas said.
She said when writing the poem she tried to get into the mindset of a 13-14 year old which for many of people is a time of loneliness and confusion.
Strimas also writes about debt and with her poem Calculator/VISA she provides a commentary on debt with young adults.
“There is something really funny about it to. its like WOO-HOO I won the lottery than you blow every last penny,” Strimas said.
The poems come from observation and experience, said Strimas.
O'Niel Barrington Blair 