After reading Popa’s prior collection, 2020’s ‘American Faith,’ and loving it, I was excited to dive into this collection, and I was not disappointed at all. Popa’s writing style, combined with a strong sense of place and purpose within all of her poems, made the reading experience enjoyable, and I found myself dwelling on many of the themes and sentiments expressed within the collection for days afterwards.

Popa’s poems run the gamut—they include darker subjects and themes, such as musings on grief, despair, and a loss of innocence, while also touching on many lighter and optimistic human experiences, including how to survive during a global pandemic and treasuring your past while also understanding that you have to let it go to have a successful and fruitful future. And that’s what I loved about this collection the most—Popa’s poems always varied from one page to the next, and we were never stuck in a morass of darkness for more than a few pages, and even that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. When I encountered poems that talked about the death of loved ones or the loss of youth, the sentiments and lessons expressed were drenched in hope as well, giving one the idea that you can dwell on memories and grief and the sense of loss, but you have to pick yourself up at the end of the day and keep living your life regardless, and that’s what makes the human condition so unique. We can feel the full range of emotions, from anger and sadness to ecstasy and happiness, but a successful life is measured in how we respond to adversity, whether that be professional or personal.

I loved the subjects and settings of many of these poems as well, especially her winter-related poems. There are several of these sprinkled throughout the various sections of the collection, and they usually add an emotional depth to the overall book (her descriptions of looking out a window and seeing a world covered in snow and darkness are haunting) that some poets seem to miss—they try so hard to sound lofty and ‘literary’ that they don’t realize that readers understand exactly what they’re trying to do, and the poems suffer because they sound so stuffy and ‘lofty.’ Popa’s poems are written in mostly plain prose, and she uses beautiful descriptive lines to fully immerse her readers in the world of each individual poem, which allowed me to leave the room I was reading them in and seeing the settings that the poems took place in. That, to me at least, is what makes great poetry—if you’re able to transport your readers to another time or place or season or world, that means a direct connection between author and reader has been forged, and you’ve most likely discovered a poet that you’ll follow for life.

I also appreciated that this collection included poems that directly referenced COVID and the lockdowns that occurred in 2020—I’ve read too many interviews with other poets and prose authors who say they will refuse to write about anything related to the pandemic for one reason or another, but I find that a little ridiculous, as the pandemic created seismic shifts in the world socially, politically, economically, and culturally. Popa writes about both the pandemic at large and her specific experiences in lockdown with honesty and openness, and she does so in a way that seems eminently relatable.

This is a terrific collection, and it is highly readable to even the most casual poetry reader. I look forward to what Popa continues to put out in the future, and her easy-to-read-and-understand style of writing places her in a group of poets that should see some real-world impact related to her work.

Thanks to NetGalley, W. W. Norton & Company, and Maya C. Popa for the digital ARC of 'Wound is the Origin of Wonder' in exchange for an honest review.

Popa traverses scales of loss, from personal absence and grief to climate anxiety. The collection’s title, also the title of several poems, appropriately encapsulates its methods. Popa probes words, poems, language, such that every poem feels a bit like an ars poetica; and pain and appreciation are dually centered as Popa manages to be both analytical and emotional. Formally, the poems were very consistent, at times too consistent for me-yet Popa’s strong but never gimmicky concept and sharp images kept the collection engaging.

As a preface to this review, I will admit that I am no expert when it comes to understanding the true merit and value of poetry. My perspective comes from someone closer to the average. I see other reviews of poetry collections and wish I could express my opinions as well as those reviewers do.

That being said, I did enjoy this collection. There was an underlying momentum to the poems, which escalated from section to section. I think this is why the first section did not feel like it gripped me. The meanings were more vague and difficult for me to grasp. Moving into the second section, there were specific lines and poems that spoke to me more individually. The third section really shone. Anyone who has memories of living through the global upheaval that was 2020 would likely find at least one poem in that section that resonates with them.

Overall, this was a good collection. I can certainly feel and see that this is quality work, even if I do not have the language to express why I feel that way.

This book is slow, reminds me of how honey moves--full of light and that burst of sugared pleasure on the tongue. It's a solid, strong book, and no wonder it has such accolades--Maggie Smith's blurb, a list of really phenomenal publications, and Norton's backing, which also indicates it's an imminently readable / wide-audience poetry book.

Here are some of the lines and moments that worked so well for me:

"as nitrogen crept up the spine's steps" (19)

"blues so soaked they emit their own light" (20)

"The flowers / growing furiously in their June bodies." (24)

"desire's oculus" (27)


My only complaint is that some of the moments I believe could have been lovely were less surprising for me. The whole of the first iteration of the title poem was so good until the last line, which felt right in terms of sentiment but not wholly where I felt Popa's prior language could be. There are similar moments throughout--as many moments where I loved the language, there were moments where I felt the language was too easy, but this is also part of how the book gains a broader audience--it doesn't let many get shut out.


Thank you to NetGalley and WW Norton for providing an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.