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dinasamimi's review
5.0
Where has Lucille Clifton been all my life? Incredible range and incisiveness. Too many favorites to name. One of my favorite poets bar none.
lsparrow's review
3.0
on the whole I did not love her style of poetry although there were individual poems that I liked. Lots of poems with biblical themes
charadreemurrs's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dreadlockdiva2's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
5.0
lindseyzank's review
5.0
Lucille Clifton is hands down one of my favorite poets, if not my favorite. She writes from a place of heart and soul. It struck me that she was someone who needed to write poetry in order to make sense of her world and her place in it. Above all, she uses poetry to assert the dignity of every human on this planet, to express her love for them. She is visionary and heart-ful and supremely intelligent. Her style is simple and brief; her poems often hold their power through one image or emotion, and she frequently repeats words and phrases like a chorus would. None of her poems are overly complicated or overworked, yet her message is always sophisticated and complex. The subject matter of her poetry is varied: she covers her battle with cancer, what it means to be a Black woman, what it means to have African ancestry, Biblical characters, memorials to famous and not famous people who have died, mothering and daughtering, slavery, survival, Native American history and oppression, racism, Hindu deities, apartheid in South Africa, the Civil Rights Movement in the US, genocide, and what it means to be a human as a member of the human race. She deeply understands that we are all connected and that our actions have the potential to affect people we’ve never even met, who live both here and now and who might live in the future. Even though the subjects she address in her poems are often dark and hard hitting, the overall tone of her entire collection of poems is that of triumph and celebration. What a gem of a poet and person she was; if you haven’t read her work, you’re missing out on the words of one of the greatest American poets who ever lived.
sanfordc11's review
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
seyfert's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Slavery, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Cancer, and Death of parent
Minor: Terminal illness, Hate crime, Child death, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Gun violence, Death, and Sexual assault
dbjorlin's review
5.0
A masterpiece. Clifton's poems are equal parts prophetic, poignant, humorous, empathetic, and mystical. Her voice is uniquely her own, and she is fearless in her craft. With Denise Levertov and W. H. Auden, she forms the third part of my poetic trinity.