Review: Tusitala, by Danielle Kionasina Dilys Thomson

Tusitala is the debut poetry collection from the Welsh and Samoan writer Danielle Kionasina Dilys Thomson. The book is an homage dedicated to “the aunties who slipped $20 notes into her hands and for the sisters who cackled with her into the night”. An archive of poems from 2023 to 2024, the collection is disparate and varied.

Anyone can interpret and visualise poetry, but in this case for me with this book, it was quite hard to see the larger picture and build understanding. Frustrated with myself, I read ‘Oasis’ to someone else and they understood it fine. When read aloud, the poetry has an impact that is harder to access on the page. The dense style means the reader has to dig deep to find meaning or think a bit harder on what the poem is trying to convey, as the message is sometimes buried amongst a plethora of words. For example, the emphatic line in ‘Big Smoke’:  ‘I sob into a metallic pillow / Vomit and oil swirl where my reflection lies. Packets that once housed an addict’s poisonous pleasure stick to chew-up spit.’ Visceral, descriptive, and slightly opaque. 

In ‘Avondale Shops’, the author describes the services of the ‘Everything Shop’ with ‘want an eye-test? Easy. Need your shoes fixed? Done. Looking for some Tramadol with a side of grape-flavoured bubblegum? We’ve got you.’ This line was quoted in the book, so perhaps it was a direct quote from the shop itself, but I still found it slow to read, with its cadence of speech. It’s easy to imagine it coming to life at a poetry event. 

Poetry that plunges me into the deep end of the water, that is pungent in its delivery, such as Tusiata Avia or Sia Figel, is more my usual reading. But there is relatability here, especially in poems such as ‘Ubers’, where the author describes the multiple worst case scenarios they could think of during an Uber car ride. It’s only fifteen minutes to an eventual breakthrough and the Uber is ‘the perfect place to have an existential crisis’. Like the blurb notes, this book is an archive. The collection feels as if it were put together to share multiple accounts from the author’s experience. There are poems that stand out such as  ‘Dear Nana’, which speaks about how much the author misses her late grandmother. It’s a glimpse of honesty and heart. A gentle hand slowly pulled me into the author’s world when I read the line ‘I miss you like the 8 year old teine whose voice broke at the podium in front of everyone who loved you.’ It’s a letter from someone who continues to write, yearn and dedicate their all for their grandmother. 

After reading the whole book, I took a step back to evaluate my true feelings and raised the question for myself: ‘What was it that made me distant from the work?’ I questioned whether it was the style of writing or if I just didn’t enjoy the book overall. During my reading, there were no pieces that would strike or provoke any major emotion in me apart from confusion. Perhaps I am not the intended audience as I could not relate or truly feel for the poetry. In saying that, I’ll still be looking forward to seeing what work Thomson publishes next and in the future. Reviewed by Katalaina Saute