Summary5 min read

Poetry Unbound: Harryette Mullen — LUVTOFU

Host: Pádraig Ó Tuama
Date: February 9, 2026
Podcast: Poetry Unbound by On Being Studios

Episode Overview

In this episode, Pádraig Ó Tuama explores Harryette Mullen’s poem “LUVTOFU.” The episode unpacks the poem’s witty linguistic play, savory sensuality, and the many layers of meaning hidden within a seemingly simple title. Rooted in a real-life incident involving a vegan’s controversial license plate, Ó Tuama uses this poem as a lens to discuss language’s potential for double meanings, poetic craft, sensuality, and the importance of multiple interpretations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Double-Edged Nature of Language

Opening Anecdote (00:02):
Ó Tuama starts by recounting a story about a politician misunderstanding the text abbreviation “LOL.” He thought it meant “lots of love” instead of “laugh out loud,” which resulted in some uncomfortable miscommunications.

“He was texting one thing, thinking it meant one thing, but actually it meant another.” (00:40, Pádraig Ó Tuama)
Parallel to the Poem’s Title:
This anecdote sets up the central theme—how language can simultaneously hold multiple meanings, both humorous and awkward.

2. Introduction & Recitation of “LUVTOFU”

Ó Tuama reads “LUVTOFU” out loud, emphasizing its surface playfulness with tofu’s textures and flavors, while hinting at deeper, sensual undertones.
The poem takes inspiration from a real news headline:

“Vegan’s license plate recalled in state crackdown.”

3. Double Entendre: “LUVTOFU” / “Love to Fu”

Interpretive Ambiguity (02:15):
The title “LUVTOFU” (all caps, no spaces) can be read as both “love tofu” and, suggestively, “love to f— you.”

“The seven letters love tofu also obviously can be read as love to fu, which gives the entire poem a completely different meaning.” (03:12, Ó Tuama)
Ó Tuama rereads the poem, substituting in the innuendo, highlighting its cheeky double meaning.

4. Background: The Origin Story

The original story involved a vegan in Maine whose “LUVTOFU” license plate was recalled by the state for its potential for vulgar misinterpretation.

“The state of Maine said that it was too open to misinterpretation, and it came across as vulgar. And he actually didn’t want a vulgar license plate.” (04:12, Ó Tuama)

5. Poetic Craft and Devices

Ó Tuama draws attention to the poem’s intricate use of rhyme, half rhyme, alliteration, and assonance:
- Examples:
  - “silky, creamy, sweet and dreamy”
  - “solid, firm and fleshy”
  - “taste and texture”
  - “kitchen when it’s sizzling”
  - “basting and tasting our spicy special sauce”
“Alongside the humor and the innuendo of this brilliant poem is such deep craft of rhyme and half rhyme and alliteration and assonance.” (05:23, Ó Tuama)
Poet’s vulnerability:

"When we've been recording this, I keep on tripping over it, perhaps 'cause I'm blushing on the radio..." (06:23, Ó Tuama)

6. The I-You Dynamic and Sensuality

Address and Emotion:
Focus on the poem’s use of “I” and “you,” creating an intimate, sensual relationship.

“Underneath the play of this very clever, sexy, suggestive, brilliant poem is an address of someone I to a you.” (07:03, Ó Tuama)
Ó Tuama discusses how vowel sounds carry musical and emotional resonance in poetry.

7. Literary Allusions

Reference to Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
The opening line, “How much do I love tofu?” echoes the famous, “How do I love thee?” of Sonnet 43.

“So throughout this Love tofu, love to f you poem from Harriet Mullen, there's a wink to older poetry, poetry from women that had been discounted.” (08:30, Ó Tuama)
Reference to Audre Lorde:
Allusions to Lorde’s essay “Uses of the Erotic” are identified in the poem’s exploration of pleasure, the body, and creativity.

8. Poetic Rule-Breaking and Multiplicity

Mullen’s overall body of work is briefly contextualized—her interest in challenging linguistic norms, representing Black women’s voices, and using poetry as a rule-breaking form.

“Poetry in general is a rule breaking activity. And I think that's picked up in this poem that breaks a rule, perhaps about what you can or can't write a poem about.” (09:40, Ó Tuama)

9. The Concluding Twist: “Argue”

Attention to the poem’s final line:

“Surely you knew I love tofu more than I love to argue.”
Ó Tuama muses on “argue” as both a playful and potentially somber turn, suggesting the erotic is a way to live seriously, and that pleasure doesn’t exclude seriousness.

10. Layered Surface and Meaning

Takeaway:
The importance of accepting and celebrating multiple simultaneous interpretations rather than insisting on single meanings.

"Harriet Mullen is asserting brilliantly, deliciously, that multiple things are on the surface." (11:29, Ó Tuama)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On misreadings and double meanings:

"He was texting one thing, thinking it meant one thing, but actually it meant another." (00:40, Ó Tuama)
On suggestiveness:

“Love tofu also obviously can be read as love to fu, which gives the entire poem a completely different meaning… a sizzling and spicy meaning.” (03:18, Ó Tuama)
On blushing over poetry’s double entendre:

“I keep on tripping over it, perhaps cause I’m blushing on the radio.” (06:23, Ó Tuama)
On poetry’s musical emotion:

“Often I think that the vowel sounds of a poem communicate something of its music, but also of its emotional capacity…” (07:40, Ó Tuama)
On poetic allusion and women's voices:

“There’s a wink to older poetry, poetry from women that had been discounted.” (08:30, Ó Tuama)
On multiple truths in language:

“Language can reveal what seems to be hidden and that in a certain sense that language is the presentation of what it is, the multiple layers that it contains and that many things can exist in one place." (11:10, Ó Tuama)

Timestamps for Major Segments

00:02: Introduction; anecdote about LOL and language ambiguity
01:35: Reading of “LUVTOFU” by Harryette Mullen
02:53: Breakdown of double meaning (“love tofu” vs. “love to fu”)
04:12: Story of the Maine vegan and license plate
05:23: Exploration of rhyme, alliteration, sensuality in the poem
07:03: Discussion of intimacy and musicality of vowel sounds
08:30: Literary allusions (Barrett Browning, Audre Lorde)
09:40: Poetry as rule-breaking and Mullen’s craft
10:32: “Argue”—concluding twist
11:10: Reflection on multiplicity of meaning and language’s richness

Conclusion

This episode of Poetry Unbound dives deep into Harryette Mullen’s “LUVTOFU,” celebrating its clever double entendres, poetic craftsmanship, and its assertion that language (and love) can hold many truths at once. Ó Tuama’s engaging, playful, and thoughtful analysis opens up both the humor and the resonance found in an homage to tofu that is, just beneath the surface, a celebration of erotic possibility, poetic tradition, and the creative freedom of language itself.

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[00:02]
A
My name is Padre Gautuma, and there's a story I heard years ago about a politician who was mistaken about what the text abbreviation lol means. It typically means laugh out loud something you say when you find something funny, but he thought it meant lots of love. In some ways, it's a totally understandable mistake when you think about it. And at one point it came to light that when one of his colleagues had texted him to say that they'd been through a family bereavement, that he had texted back with LOL thinking it meant lots of love, when obviously the person received the text message and thought, why is he laughing when I've told him about my family bereavement? He was texting one thing, thinking it meant one thing, but actually it meant another. And so many mistakes are possible in language or where two things can be possible at once, and it's just depending as to how it is you're reading something or where it is you're coming from. And we're caught sometimes in the strangeness of trying to figure out what do we do when something can be interpreted in multiple ways in U.S. Love Tofu by Harriet Mullen Vegan's license plate recalled in State Crackdown how much do I love tofu? You knew I love tofu for dessert when it's silky, creamy, sweet and dreamy I also love tofu as a hearty entree when it's solid, firm and fleshy Yes, I love tofu as my tongue savors every taste and texture in the kitchen when it's sizzling I picture how we'll saturate that naked canvas Ready to be splashed with flavor I love tofu when we're basting and tasting our spicy special sauce I love tofu in all seasons, day and night when feeling out of sight. Why, oh why do I? Well, why not? Surely you knew I love tofu more than I love to argue. The title of this poem by Harriet Mullen is Love Tofu. But it's written in seven capital letters with no space in them. L U V T O F U. And then it's got that quote from the newspaper headline as an epigraph. Vegan's license plate recalled in state crackdown. And of course, all of these lines work to make us think about tofu. Silky and hearty entree. My tongue savors every taste and texture in the kitchen, etc. And presumably this is something that is based on reality. There's a newspaper article that you can search to follow it up. Somebody who was A vegan loved tofu and had this as their license plate for their vehicle. But the seven letters love tofu also obviously can be read as love to fu, which gives the entire poem a completely different meaning. And to quote the poem, sizzling and spicy meaning. So listen to it again. How much do I love to eff you? You knew I love to eff you for dessert when it's silky, creamy, sweet and dreamy I also love to eff you as a hearty entree when it's solid, firm and fleshy Yes, I love to eff you as my tongue savors every taste and texture in the kitchen when it's sizzling I picture how we'll saturate that N canvas Ready to be splashed with flavor I love to eff you when we're basting and tasting our spicy special sauce I love to F you in all seasons, day and night when feeling out of sight why, oh why do I well, why not? Surely you knew I love to eff you more than I love to argue. So Harriet Mullen clearly saw this particular story in the newspaper about this guy in Maine who had this as a. A license plate. And the state of Maine said that it was too open to misinterpretation, and it came across as vulgar. And he actually didn't want a vulgar license plate. He really liked tofu, and so he was happy to have it changed, or at least he consented to have it changed. But she saw something in there that was an open door for great humor and poetry and something to get us to think. Alongside the. The humor and the innuendo of this brilliant poem is such deep craft of rhyme and half rhyme and alliteration and assonance. And I think it's really worthwhile paying attention to the craft as well as the innuendo. So first of all, listen to the rhymes here. Do you? New tofu. And then silky, creamy, sweet and dreamy, firm and fleshy. There's alliteration there. And savours and taste have assonance and repeated vowel sounds. And then taste and texture, they bring back alliteration and kitchen and sizzling, I think, is the most delicious kind of rhyme, I think. And saturate and naked have not quite a perfect rhyme, but something that works fantastically, I think. And then it's picking up at the end of that same sentence with flavor, basting and tasting opens up a sentence that ends with the brilliant spicy special sauce. And in fact, when we've been recording this, I keep on tripping over it, perhaps cause I'm blushing on the radio day and night when feeling out of sight leads us into something that has meter and rhyme and something that feels a little bit like we're being drawn into rap or rhythm or some different kind of poetry. The final lines, when looking at this through the lens of craft, are so worthwhile reading in their entirety. Why, oh, why do I? Well, why not? Surely you knew I love tofu more than I love to argue. This has repeated repetition of vowel sounds. I and you. Why I? Y, I, I and you. New tofu argue. And so underneath the play of this very clever, sexy, suggestive, brilliant poem is an address of someone I to a you. And you. Hear that in the rhymes and in the play of language. Often I think that the vowel sounds of a poem communicate something of its music, but also of its emotional capacity, and that there's a deep meaning sometimes heard in repeating the vowel sounds throughout a poem and letting the music of those, the emotion of those, the feeling of those, communicate itself to you. And here what we hear is an address between an I to a you in a poem that is so richly and deliciously sensual, So read in the suggestive or innuendo or vulgar way. This poem is entirely and magnificently suggestive, and you can read through the text of it yourself and explore all the depths of the suggestiveness in it. Read about tofu. It's also delicious. I like tofu. And there's obviously the rhyming I sounds at the end and the U sounds at the end. That's another layer. But there's even another layer which is reference to other older poems. The opening line of Harriet Mullen's poem is, how much do I love tofu? Or how much do I love to f you? However you want to read it. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's very famous Sonnet 43 starts off with the question, how much do I love thee? And then that poem finishes with I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears of all my life. And if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. So throughout this Love tofu, love to f you poem from Harriet Mullen, there's a wink to older poetry, poetry from women that had been discounted. And this is demonstrated in the literary allusions back to a poem that has become more famous now than it was when Elizabeth Barrett Browning was alive. Lots of Harriet Mullin's work, an estimable career of publishing and reciting and writing poems. Lots of her work is about the Illusion and usage of language, the multiplicities of voice lifting up black women's voices in writing and representation. At one point, Harriet Mullen wrote that poetry in general is a rule breaking activity. And. And I think that's picked up in this poem that breaks a rule, perhaps about what you can or can't write a poem about breaks a rule about how it is you should consider how to pronounce the particular title of this poem and then also looks at the word as it ends with argue. Surely you knew I love tofu more than I love to argue. There's the rhyme here of you. But argue is such an interesting word to finish with. And argue is so rich and replete in what it might imply. Maybe the speaker of the poem loves to argue. Surely you knew I love tofu more than I love to argue. That's how it ends. So loving argument, but loving tofu or whatever that means more. And this contains a really serious point, I think in a playful way, perhaps making a more sombre reading of argue, you could suggest that the erotic is part of a way of living a serious life. And then alongside Elizabeth Barrett Browning being referenced, what we hear here is Audre Lorde and her famous essay the Uses of the Erotic being referenced. So amidst the humour and eroticism and cleverness, and this is a sexy poem filled with double entendre that's also about enjoying tofu. And there's a recognition that language can reveal what seems to be hidden and that in a certain sense that language is the presentation of what it is, the multiple layers that it contains and that many things can exist in one place. When somebody might be saying there's only one thing that's there. Harriet Mullen is asserting brilliantly, deliciously, that multiple things are on the surface. Love Tofu by Harriet Mullen Vegan's license plate recalled in State Crackdown how much do I love tofu? You knew I love tofu for dessert when it's silky, creamy, sweet and dreamy I also love tofu as a hearty entree when it's solid, firm and fleshy Yes, I love tofu as my tongue savors Every taste and texture in the kitchen when it's sizzling I picture how we'll saturate that naked canvas Ready to be splashed with fl I love tofu when we're basting and tasting our spicy special sauce I love tofu in all seasons, day and night when feeling out of sight why, oh why do I? Well, why not? Surely you knew I love tofu more than I love to argue. Love Tofu or love to Fu by Harriet Mullen, appears in Regaining Unconsciousness, published in 2025 by Gray Wolf Press. Thanks to them for permission to use this poem and to Frederick Courtright of the Permissions company, Poetry Unbound is Andrea Prevot, Carla Zanoni, Daryl Chen, Sparrow Murray, Chris Heagle, Bill Sigmund and me, Padre Gautuma. Our music is composed and provided by Gautam Srikishan and Blue Dot Sessions. These episodes were made in New York City on unceded Lenape land. Special thanks to Will Selwyn, Nave Yan and Adam Morell at Digital Island Studios in Manhattan. Thanks as well to Frederick Courtright of the Permissions company. Poetry Unbound is an independent non profit production of the On Being project founded and led by Krista Tippett. This season of Poetry Unbound is made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. Our other funding partners include the Liana foundation, the Bidale foundation and Engaging the Census Foundation. Poetry Unbound will be nothing without the listening community. Thanks to all who listen, who read and give through our weekly Poetry Unbound substack or directly to On Being. For links to the substack and to find out more about Poetry Unbound books and events, visit poetryunbound.org.