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jasbeingjas's review against another edition
4.0
The message that there’s no one way to be Muslim is beautiful. There were a few poems I didn’t really care for but that seems to be the case for any anthology. My favorite pieces were the ones that explored how being Muslim and Black or Muslim and queer intersect. Overall this anthology is a great way to start thinking about those experiences and those different parts of people’s’ identities and what it might mean for them.
venneh's review against another edition
5.0
Unsurprisingly fantastic anthology with names that I already know now but are earlier in their careers at the time this was published (Seema Yasmin, Kaveh Akkbar), and plenty of new names I want to follow. Four sections of poetry and one of short essays (or the more prose style poetry). Pick it up.
thealyssa_ann's review against another edition
4.0
This was a delightfully large collection of poetry with a wide variety of poets demonstrating so many different experiences and ways of being Muslim. A lot of it went over my head but I also learned a lot and appreciated the variety of style of poetry, some of which verged on being like essays.
indalauryn's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a while since I've read a good book of poetry, but I'm always glad when I do. This book was full of it from varying points of view of Muslim identity. The essays at the end were also just as good and thought provoking. All these explorations into identity are incredible and shows just how varied people within the Muslim faith are.
axmed's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
"Something shifted in me when I learned about Muhammad Ali’s life, and now I live in the truth of my own greatness."
Najma Sharif
Najma Sharif
tasnimh's review against another edition
4.0
A affirming, inspirational and meaningful collection of poems and essays. I needed this. I needed to hear, see and feel the voices voicing the thoughts, questions and troubles I too have experienced.
alj24's review against another edition
4.0
It was great to have so many explicitly Muslim voices in a collection of poetry. These poems really highlighted the strength of poetry—making old things new and shifting perspectives. I learned a lot about all the different facets of Muslim life accompained with some hard-hitting lines. Again, I'm seeing that for me bingeing on poetry works with 80 page single author poetry collections but not on bigger anthologies. I also didn't love the prose selections at the end of the work; they were much less powerful. Overall, a great collection of vibrant voices and a goldmine for windows & mirrors depending on your identity.
adriatrees's review
5.0
Another amazing poetry anthology in the Breakbeat Poet series that centers Muslim voices across sexual, racial, and gender identities. Safia Elhillo, an editor along with Fatimah Asghar, ends the anthology with her poem “Now More Than Ever” where she discusses how others perceive her Muslim identity after the 2016 US election. Her last few lines are striking: “My being hunted did not make me a Muslim. Or more Muslim. The election did not make me a Muslim. Or more. Or less. Not Now More Than Ever. Since the beginning.”
A recurring theme that is important is that poetry by writers who are marginalized (by religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality) do not have to make their art consumable to white consumers. In Marwa Helal’s poem “Say Ameen”, she writes how she is trading poetry through emails with a friend for feedback and “she worries the ending doesn’t land. That “they” won’t get it. I tell her the key is to center ourselves. Don’t worry about they. Focus on us. It’s like this: if you’re holding the camera then just keep it pointed at us, at yourself. Zoom in.”
What a treasure of a poetry anthology! I am excited to read more from the poets whose art was displayed in this anthology.
A recurring theme that is important is that poetry by writers who are marginalized (by religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality) do not have to make their art consumable to white consumers. In Marwa Helal’s poem “Say Ameen”, she writes how she is trading poetry through emails with a friend for feedback and “she worries the ending doesn’t land. That “they” won’t get it. I tell her the key is to center ourselves. Don’t worry about they. Focus on us. It’s like this: if you’re holding the camera then just keep it pointed at us, at yourself. Zoom in.”
What a treasure of a poetry anthology! I am excited to read more from the poets whose art was displayed in this anthology.