Poem Strip
Cartoonist: Dino Buzzati
Translator: Marina Harss
Hand Lettering: Rich Tomasso
Publisher: New York Review Comics
Publication Date: April 2026
When it comes to poetry in comics, there are a multitude of methods. Oftentimes, creatives will go for the simplistic approach and have the words appear like a typical poem right next to the images. Others will utilize a more traditional comics paneling to portray the poetic verse. Artist Dino Buzzati (alongside translator Marina Harss) do a mixture of both and then some.
Presented as a series of mostly single pages, Poem Strip depicts two epic poems by Buzzati with the Gorey stylings they deserve. You do not so much read the works as a whole as dive into the subconscious of implications that each page provides. Consider, for example, the page quoted above. All told, the lines of this (for want of a better term) stanza are pretty short: “They have mouths/They have teeth/Soon the torment begins” lacking any punctuation. But the space between the words provides each line with a higher degree of impact compared to putting them together than even a traditional stanza would. Additionally, Buzzati’s art creates a mood that presents the full meaning of the mouths both sexually, carnally, and violently that further highlights the meaning of the words. What’s more, the lack of caption boxes surrounding the words adds to the unencumbered energy of the page.
Other pages in the comic range from characters saying the lines of the poem in traditional word balloons to traditional caption boxes. One page utilizes traditional panel layouts while another goes for more experimental layouts that only a cartoonist could envision. At least one page even foregoes traditional language in favor of pure visual expression. But each page nevertheless conveys the meaning and mood of each of Buzzati’s verses.
It’s worth stressing that the comic is a translation from Italian. Oftentimes, translations can get a bad rap as misunderstanding and deforming the language. Works of poetry can lose their meaning due to the wrong word choices. Indeed, the act of translating a comic poem is even harder because of the limited space provided by the page. And yet, Marina Harss nevertheless shines through, able to bound through the Italian language and present us with a version of the text that captures Buzzati’s poetic intent.
Overall, Poem Strip is some pretty damn good work. It honestly speaks for itself.
Poem Strip is out this month via New York Review Books
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