Literate. Illiterate.Bewitching... In his debut collection--a nine part whimsical discourse, Canadian author/artist Rolli waxes poetic about everything under 'the muscular sun'. There are poems about peaches and plums, about desperate celebs and monster poets, mistresses and mummified cats. Strange, celebratory, self-mocking, these are poems to be gulped down like summer fruit.
Rollick with Rolli through coddled lawns and parlour rooms, sloshing tea with gingercats under bluebird moons and slopping wine with bathing bachelorette hieresses in a world plum-stuffed with all things epicurean and bewitching, from English to Egyptian, the pathologic and the philosophic. By Canada's Charles Anderson (Rolli), recipient of the 2007 John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award; and winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. With illustrations by the author. Colour. 5.5 x 8.5. 128 pages.

Rolli (aka Charles Anderson) is an author/illustrator hailing from Saskatchewan, Canada. His work has appeared in literary magazines across North America--Quarterly West, The New Quarterly, subTerrain, The Antigonish Review, Grain, Byline, Stickman Review, Feathertale Review, and many others. Rolli was the recipient of the 2007 John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award; and as a winner of the 2008/2009 Commonwealth Short Story Competition, his work has been broadcast in over 30 countries.

Charles Anderson's profile page

As a literary buff, I must admit that I sometimes find poetry a bit of a struggle. Perhaps it's the lack of poetic material in my education or my "Just say what you mean!" mentality. Either way I have to say that I was drawn to Plum Stuff by Rolli. The colorful cover work and delicious title drew me in like Alice chasing a white rabbit and the collection itself was nothing short of Wonderland.
There is a lot to admire with Rolli's debut work. The 116 pages of poetic wonder are broken up into nine sections. Each section is categorized by the subject matter. These subjects range from the bewitching to the philosophical, the literate to the illiterate, the English to the Egyptian. All of these sections offer something different to admire and explore. My personal favorite was the section "Things Pathological." Here, Rolli's work matches the sections title, in a good way.
Rolli brought something to this collection that I hadn't seen before. Every once in a while there was a break from the traditional poetry and a short dialogue would be included. Some were as short as two lines while others went on several pages. Whatever the length, these dialogues added a unique and often humorous touch, to the collection.
Another interesting addition was the author's original artwork. Rolli spices up his poetry with sketches that coincide with his words. The drawings give the reader a chance to connect more with Rolli and his imaginative mind.
Rolli's creativity shines in this debut work. His content is witty and bizarre and will leave readers entertained. There is a lot to digest in Plum Stuff, but there is no doubt, after reading it, you'll walk away full and satisfied.

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