Hana Shafi | Issue 32
Poetry | it is a rite of passage to mix every slushie flavour / into one sugary smorgasbord of ice cold slush
gasoline
it is a rite of passage to mix every slushie flavour into one sugary smorgasbord of ice cold slush to pretend that popeyes candy sticks are cigarettes and that rockets are ecstasy we put air in our tires at the bicycle pump we once liked the smell of gasoline we thought oil slicks on the tarmac were beautiful gas stations see more diversity of human life than places of worship it’s not a temple, but purgatory a place where you can buy hostesses cupcakes buy a life-changing lotto ticket and destroy the planet at the same time god made man man made gas stations, gas stations end man and i bought pepsi slushies there
“gasoline” and “Slushies n Cigarettes” from People You Know, Places You’ve Been: poems and illustrations © 2023 by Hana Shafi. Used with permission of Book*hug Press.
Hana Shafi is a writer and artist who illustrates under the name Frizz Kid. Both her visual art and writing frequently explore themes such as feminism, body politics, racism, and pop culture. She’s published articles in publications such as The Walrus, Hazlitt and This Magazine, and has been featured on Buzzfeed, CBC, Flare Magazine, and Shameless. She received the Women Who Inspire Award from the Canadian Council for Muslim Women in 2017. Her first book, It Begins With The Body was selected by CBC books as one of the best poetry books of 2018. Her second book, a compilation of essays and illustrations from her notable affirmation art series, titled Small, Broke, and Kind of Dirty: Affirmations for the Real World came out in 2020. Hana and her family immigrated to Mississauga from Dubai in 1996, and she now lives in Toronto with her two cute, but sometimes annoying, cats.
People You Know Places You’ve Been: poems and illustrations by Hana Shafi Book*hug Press, 2023
The latest poetry and artwork collection from Hana Shafi examines the everyday connections we make to the people and places we encounter. Despite the infinite variations of our lives, every urban dweller has sparred with a neighbour they disliked, seen beautiful strangers on public transit, told secrets to their hairdresser. We interact with these supporting characters on a daily basis—and often we are them for others.
Shafi celebrates the Antiheroes of the world (the alcoholic at your local bar, teenage girls); examines those in Beautiful Leading Roles (the hot professor, the rich couple); lauds older generations of Wizards and Crones; and flags the Nemeses (men who think they’re allies, competitors for produce at farmer’s markets). We sink into recognition at depictions of Palaces such as the greasy spoon, Dungeons of public transit, and the Liminal Spaces of checkout counters or waiting rooms (including that one at the end of the cosmos).
People You Know, Places You’ve Been is an insightful, charming collection that offers a sense of shared recognition and nostalgia, ultimately asking: what if seemingly mundane places are actually the foundations of who you are?
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