About
Rachelle Toarmino's debut collection of poems is "The Glass Essay" for the Tinder generation, a fiery and playful exploration of the all-too-real experiences that come with being an ex. While the title suggests a meditation on leaving and being left—on absence, even on woundedness—there are no ghosts in this book. Instead, the reader finds Britney Spears and other archetypal exes and troubled lovers, from Carmela Soprano and Lorde to Anne Carson and Molly Bloom. They don't haunt the rooms of these poems: they party in them, fill them with their laughter, rage, and tender longing. Unbroken and big-hearted, they sing together of magic and pain, of old fights and new gambles, of getting over a breakup and getting over yourself.
June 9, 2020
Attention
"Rachelle Toarmino's That Ex is the poetry book all your ex-boyfriends warned you was crazy. These poems are somewhere between aphorism, dm, and good old-fashioned free verse. This is a sensitive, self-aware collection full of Britney Spears references, emotional vulnerability, and digital nostalgia. Funny, tender, and real."
—Hera Lindsay Bird
"The poems in Rachelle Toarmino's That Ex ask an insistent question: What does love look like in the era of the group chat? In these poems, ex-lovers swirl around with Lorde, Sopranos characters, Anne Carson, and James Joyce, creating a rascally tenderhearted poetics of loss, joy, and desire. This debut, no question, is iconic. I walk away from it with wonder and, yes, a Britney lyric: 'I think there's love / I don't think it's what / we thought it was / I still believe.'"
—Jakob Maier
"This collection is the smartest and the baddest. I felt a love I thought was only possible in bar bathrooms: dizzy, real, and there for you, baby girl. It's what I wanted! I didn't even know!"
—Kimmy Walters
"I love these romantic and heartbroken poems as I love the subatomic thrill of new love and as I love the brightest shades of pink and as I love to write about exes."
—Jamie Hood
"A funny, timely, and vivacious meditation on forgiveness and the ways in which alienation can be repurposed as a healing act of rebellion. Toarmino's voice is sharp and commands attention—this is a debut that pays tribute to the past as it watches it burn, lit match in hand. These are broken-hearted pop poems that invite you in to laugh, talk shit, and commiserate. The fire in this book cannot be faked."
—Matthew Bookin
"Rachelle's poetry knocks me over with its seemingly effortless achievement of #banger status—a deception, because this bitch works harder than anyone. The shifts she pulls off, from winking play to rage and devastation, I've only really seen paralleled in country song lyrics. Dreamy and merciless and hopeful despite having lived among monsters. In the spirit of #FreeBritney and the lies of that word, free."
—Liz Bowen
"Introducing Ex Canon. Smart, funny, full of heart and heat."
—Aidan Ryan
"Nothing makes me want to fall in love like Rachelle Toarmino's That Ex."
—Hannah Lamb-Vines, FF2 Media
"In this deftly sequenced and luminously focused book, Toarmino showcases an irresistible poetic voice while distilling the complicated dynamics at the heart of contemporary love and heartache."
—Jon Lemay, Barrelhouse
"Toarmino masterfully layers dozens of clever, understated cultural references to create a cohesive and fun portrait of the life of a 20-something in 2020s America."
—Lee Anderson, Sundress Publications
"It's hard to not want to quote every single line. If something could possibly feel like a bittersweet, distant memory and breaking news at the same time, this would be it."
—Alana Kelley, Maudlin House
"God, does this book vibe. It vibes way down in the bones of every relationship you’ve ever had, of every love you've lost or are afraid to lose. Like the Libra the author is, That Ex is all cool sophistication and casual glamour on the surface while bubbling up with eager tenderness and brutal honesty underneath."
—Gion Davis, Weird Sister
"There are some poets an audience politely snaps for, and there are some poets that get a crowd worked up like a pop star. Toarmino's the latter type."
—Kristen Felicetti, The Adroit Journal
"With a balanced serving of Britney and biting lines, Toarmino offers a vignette rife with the desperate minutiae of modern romance."
—Nicholas Brown, Palette Poetry
"I'll never be buying that shit you generalising bitch"
—Twitter user @ducksuck213
"Captured the pure unadulterated essence of victim mentality"
—Twitter user @jmsjsph
"Sad how you use these 'men are so horrible' tactics to sell your lame ass book. Pathetic, literally everyone can see right through it"
—Twitter user @pakovillasanamx
"You needed to publish a book for something everyone goes through at one point? Ook"
—Twitter user @henrybenson88
"stupid book"
—Rachelle's friend's ex-boyfriend
Selected Press
Spin
Barrelhouse
Interview with Kristen Felicetti
The Adroit Journal
Weird Sister
BookWoman
FF2 Media
Sundress Publications
Maudlin House
Metacösm
Shabby Doll House
Just Buffalo Literary Center
Rise Collaborative
WKBW 7 News
Excerpts
"You Up?"
Shabby Doll House
"What Kind of Love Is That (I Know What I'm Doing)"
P-Queue
Poetry Daily
Heresy
Sundress Publications
The Wanderer
Cosmonauts Avenue
2018 Poetry Prize Longlist
Shabby Doll House
Voicemail Poems
The Buffalo News
Metatron Press
Liner Notes
Literary Hub: "How to Plan a Literary Drive-In; Or, the Pandemic's Safest IRL Book Launch"
I wrote about the challenges of launching my debut book during the first year of the pandemic, and how I adapted by planning That Ex: The Drive-In.
Electric Literature: "How to Arrange a Poetry Collection Using Mixtape Rules"
I wrote about my decision to use a music playlist to sequence the poems in That Ex.
Flatsitter: "Fight"
The video artist Kyle Marler of Flatsitter created a video of my poem, "Fight." Commissioned by Just Buffalo Literary Center for LIT CITY VOICES in June of 2020.
Rise Collaborative: "Hard Feelings"
In partnership with Peach Mag, the news outlet and community organization Rise Collaborative created a video of my poem, "Hard Feelings" (previously titled "Personal and Generic").
Simcard: "I Said Okay"
The DJ and partyboy Simcard made a beat for the recording of my poem, "I Said Okay."
Talia Ryan: "If You Love Attention Make Some Noise"
The visual artist and printmaker Talia Ryan interpreted my poem of the same title as an exploding book. Exhibited at the Western New York Book Arts Center in Buffalo, NY in October of 2021.
