'As Serious as a Hiccup': An Emotive Insight Into Nicole Della Costa's Personal Musings

Nicole Della Costa is one of the leading poets from her generation. Her book, As Serious as a Hiccup (recently published by Pois é), reflects not only Della Costa's personal journal but also the journals of those she surrounds herself with. Earlier this year, in response to us asking Della Costa how she'd describe her poetry, she told us that she's 'Keen to say a lot by not saying much. Keen on simplicity becoming something so very powerful... the medium for poetry is paper and pen, yet it does so much.'

As Serious as a Hiccup is an intimate and emotive reflection on the simplicity of her everyday musings. Having invited fellow writers, friends and strangers to contribute by transcribing their poetry into her journal, the book includes a wide range of general ephemera, from scanned fragments of writing on napkins to excerpts of more serious text paired with simple, unadorned line drawings. Reflecting on the experiences of people from all walks of life, the collaborators' own writing impacts Nicole's experience just as much as her writing impacts theirs.

As an artist and writer from Brazil, currently living and working in New York City, the overriding beauty that features in Della Costa's work and poetry is that it speaks of the moments that make up the everyday. With collaboration at the heart of her practice, Della Costa focuses on showcasing poetry in a new modern light. Steering it away from the general prowess of academia by making it accessible for all, she founded The Poetry Bank this year, a non-profit poetry sharing platform geared at amplifying and circulating poetry that mimics an offline exchange of poems, categorised by people from a diverse range of backgrounds, rather than authors.

As well as making a heartfelt contribution with her poem Zero for our recent project, Poetry In Motion, in recognition of World Poetry Day, Della Costa has self-published two poetry books En+Theos and Ask Me About the Secret Poetry Club - from a series of poetry readings held at a bookstore in New York. She has contributed to The Beggar (edited by Sonny Hall), Worms Magazine and A Part Magazine.

You can pre order As Serious as a Hiccup here.