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Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
17 reviews
kashalaabrahams's review against another edition
4.0
Ntozake Shange's debut 'Choreopoem' (a term she coined herself), stands the test of time. To read this in 2021 was truly an immersive experience, each character's monologue was distinct in diction yet still maintained a harmonious tone whilst conversing with one another.
Vital statistics to consider when reading this book:
- 'For every 15 Black women who are assaulted, just 1 reports her rape.'
- '1 in 4 black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.'
'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf' tells the tales of several black women and their struggles in a marginalised society. All of them on the receiving end of pain and torment. Matters of abortion, sexual and domestic violence, and child murder are addressed in these poems, each stylised in a vernacular way that adds to the personalisation of these stories. It reminds us that these events do unfortunately happen in real life, the longer these topics are avoided in society, the longer people suffer the affects. What we call generational trauma in modern day.
'i'm gonna tack a sign to my door
leave a message by the phone.
if you called
to say yr sorry
call somebody
else
i dont use em anymore'
This work being published 1976 was and is a pivotal moment in how our society disregards black pain and how we as black women choose to address it. Do we often hide it out of fear of judgement? Judgement from who? These questions may have different answers, I applaud Ntozake Shange for opening up this dialogue in a time when black women were still finding their power and voice in a world that told them by its actions that it just didn't care enough.
'My love is too beautiful to have thrown back in my face.'
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Suicide attempt
miraclesnow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse
bbivnca's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
funmilayo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
suicide/ but are movin to the ends of their own
rainbows
This was one of the most intriguing and intimate poems I've ever read and I truly wish that I could see it as a performance (which is also why I didn't give it 5 stars).
I won't pretend as though I understood everything but I do believe that I felt everything this poem wanted to make me feel and more than anything this poem made me feel understood as a black woman and it made me feel loved and comforted. I don't think that I'll ever get to read anything that is quite like this again but that just means that I'll get to return to this poem again and again and rediscover it and myself every single time.
I don't really have the words to express my deep adorarion for this piece of writing.
Just know that it is one of those poems that will stay with you for the rest of your live.
I think I'll just end this review with one of my favourite verses:
i sat up one nite walkin a boardin house
screamin / cryin / the ghost of another woman
who waz missin what i waz missin
i wanted to jump up outta my bones
& be done wit myself
leave me alone
& go on in the wind
it waz too much
i fell into a numbness
til the only tree i cd see
took me up in her branches
held me in the breeze
made me dawn dew
that chill at daybreak
the sun wrapped me up swingin rose light everywhere
the sky laid over me like a million men
i waz cold/ i waz burnin up/ a child
& endlessly weavin garments for the moon
wit my tears
i found god in myself
& i loved her/ i loved her fiercly
Graphic: Rape, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Abortion, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
peachani's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
thereaderfriend's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence