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evilskin's review against another edition
4.0
When it comes to poetry it's always hard to give a rating. The writing is full of someone's emotions that you're just getting a glimpse of through a tiny crack in the door. And this collection in particular included some of the rawest writing I've faced, as personal and bare as it could get, yet so universal in its pain. Siaara shined both in the writing style and the topics she touched with her poetry (grief, healing, death, class, race, sexuality). However, after seeing the Button Poetry videos, I have to admit some of these pieces were clearly made for spoken poetry, to be recited, and nothing compares to the sound of those words coming directly out of her. The writing itself, isolated from the voice, doesn't do it any justice.
Some of my favorite poems in these were The part of the story I failed to mention, Waste(full), It is hard to tell someone on fire that you're drowning and Hexes for my exes
Overall, I would say this is a solid poetry collection, perfect for anyone who isn't uncomfortable to face every emotion it attempts and succeeds at portraying.
Note: thanks both to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review
Some of my favorite poems in these were The part of the story I failed to mention, Waste(full), It is hard to tell someone on fire that you're drowning and Hexes for my exes
Overall, I would say this is a solid poetry collection, perfect for anyone who isn't uncomfortable to face every emotion it attempts and succeeds at portraying.
Note: thanks both to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review
sentientstars's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Urbanshee in exchange for an honest review.
Urbanshee is a heart-wrenching collection portraying Freeman's pains, thoughts, and lived experiences. As a reader who does not often indulge in poetry, I was utterly blown away by the emotions that bled through the page, and even if I have personally not been a Black woman in America or have my father die in such a gruesome manner, Freeman made me feel so deeply. The poems in Urbanshee pierce your heart with the shattered shards of the poet, but we also have the pleasure to watch Freeman knit herself back together.
Thank you Siaara Freeman for sharing such a vulnerable part of yourself. Everyone that will pick this up will keep it safe.
Urbanshee is a heart-wrenching collection portraying Freeman's pains, thoughts, and lived experiences. As a reader who does not often indulge in poetry, I was utterly blown away by the emotions that bled through the page, and even if I have personally not been a Black woman in America or have my father die in such a gruesome manner, Freeman made me feel so deeply. The poems in Urbanshee pierce your heart with the shattered shards of the poet, but we also have the pleasure to watch Freeman knit herself back together.
Thank you Siaara Freeman for sharing such a vulnerable part of yourself. Everyone that will pick this up will keep it safe.
noshinbean's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC for this on NetGalley, and it was compelling. The poems in this collection were thought-provoking, empowering, and lyrical in nature when discussing the lived experience as a modern day queer Black woman, occasionally referring to herself and people like her as "Urban Girl." Siaara Freeman is outspoken and self-aware about her place in society, and it shows in her poetry.
bladelikesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Urbanshee by Siaara Freeman (5⭐️)
‘Urbanshee’ is a poem collection that discusses themes of family, blackness in aemrica, and grief.
This is such a beautiful, raw and sad collection. I often struggle to read poetry but Freeman’s writing style really worked for me. Many of the poems are very honest, raw, and personal and it really makes you feel like you’re inside the author’s brain. I really appreciate the author sharing their personal experiences and struggles. This was such a thoughtful and beautifully put together collection. I’m excited to check out Freeman’s spoken word work.
My favourites were - ‘Fearless Sounds Like Fatherless On The Right Tongue’ and ‘It Is Hard To Tell Someone On Fire That You Are Drowning’. Some quotes I liked were:
“If you kiss her, you may wake up in a new religion.”
“I am a bakery with little sweet left in it.”
“Most days I am an alley that no one should enter alone.”
“Even when the flies came, I simply introduced myself to the rot.”
“What if there is more to me than a place you run to when you are cold inside?”
“it’s a thunderstorm somewhere with your heartbeat & everyone is afraid to hear it but you.”
“Someone made my jaw drop & I liked it enough to let them
do it again & again—until the ground beneath me wore hellish lipstick in my shade.”
“All I got is this fatherless fortune of bones. All I got is a chest, but the treasure is for the drowned.”
“sometimes no one even notices a person’s problems until they set themselves on fire”
“I bled my way back to myself, left crumbs of myself to remember where I came from.”
“Sacrifice is not a shattering of glass, it is blood on your hands for getting someone out alive.”
“My mother clouds when she don’t want nobody to see her pain, which is how
I inherited my blur.”
“my heart is a BandAid for other hearts that have been bloodied by other hearts & once they heal, they rip me away.”
Rep - Black (Author); Dyslexic (Author); Lupus (Author); Queer (Author); OwnVoices
TWs/CWs - Alcohol; Animal Corpse; Animal Mutilation; Blood; Bugs; Cheating; Cultural Appropriation; Cussing; Death; Death of a parent; Dissection; Dog breeding; Drugs; Generational trauma; Grief; Gun Violence; Marijuana; Misogyny; Murder; Piss; Police Brutality; Protests; Racial Profiling; Self Harm; Serial Killings; Sexual Content; Sexual Harassment; Slavery; Slaves; Suicide Ideation; Tuberculosis
airxsouls's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This collection blurred many lines and showed so many truths about what life has felt like for our author. You can immediately pick up on the struggles faced and the things she's held dear to her. There are quite a few references to so many things.
I wasn't sure for a bit about how I would be rating only because poetry is a mystery to some and answers to others. It's ever changeable on a case-by-case basis. These are fantastic works to understand when she's overcome tragedy and life-altering decisions.
This collection blurred many lines and showed so many truths about what life has felt like for our author. You can immediately pick up on the struggles faced and the things she's held dear to her. There are quite a few references to so many things.
I wasn't sure for a bit about how I would be rating only because poetry is a mystery to some and answers to others. It's ever changeable on a case-by-case basis. These are fantastic works to understand when she's overcome tragedy and life-altering decisions.
bgibs122's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
restyourbones's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
5.0
This book of poetry was hard to read, but I'm so glad I did. It was beautifully written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Gun violence
bargainandbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
5.0
A brilliant collection on the Black experience in America. Poetry and prose can be so subjective, but this collection makes it easy to consume and understand, and tough to not be outraged and emotionally pained by the experiences written here. Poetry is a great way to learn new things and experience new stories because they’re small and powerful. This is no exception. Each poem in itself packs a punch and the whole collection flows together perfectly.
madalynw's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you Button Poetry and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
I find poetry really difficult to review, especially when it is so personal and full of emotion as Urbanshee is. I don't read a lot of poetry and sometimes I feel like I just don't get it, but this was wonderful. I do think the description didn't really fit with what the book actually is, but I'm glad I read it. I am really interested in listening to some of Siaara Freeman's spoken work now.
Definitely read this!
I find poetry really difficult to review, especially when it is so personal and full of emotion as Urbanshee is. I don't read a lot of poetry and sometimes I feel like I just don't get it, but this was wonderful. I do think the description didn't really fit with what the book actually is, but I'm glad I read it. I am really interested in listening to some of Siaara Freeman's spoken work now.
Definitely read this!
nicolelongstaff's review against another edition
4.0
ARC- “Urbanshee” is a beautifully raw collection of what makes up real, real life. It doesn’t play by old antiquated rules of what can and cannot be said. It’s words truthful and misshapen to form the reality of what growing up as a black woman looks like.