Reviews with content warning for Racism - Black Girl, Call Home

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans

51 reviews

culpeppper's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is bursting with feeling, and I loved everything I heard in the author's voice as she read from this. The cementing of the speaker is established very early on, in this home, before switching to other places and times, exploring the violence inflicted on black women, trans women, marginalized women, women by other women— and yet finding love, sensitivity, and care to balance out the oscillations of theme. It's not all violence, hatred, but many of the poems focus on a sense of belonging or not belonging, feeling tugged from and to things, and being questioned on who, or what, you are the entire time. It's moving, visceral, upsetting while peaceful, loving in it's care for speaker, subject, and readers alike. It offers real vulnerability that I crave in poetry. I would rate the audio book version itself a 4.75 due to having trouble discerning the poems from one another, or what their titles were, as the breaks between poetry and title were too short to pick up sometimes. I will definitely need to see these all in a printed format, because although the author's voice added much more personal depth and allowed for some really interesting readings of the poems (like "Missing Girls"), I think I need to really sit with these and read at my own pace again soon!

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nanduh's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.25

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staronsaturn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

very informative and reflective on my personal life. the part that stood out most was def the "Bodies Lost in History" abt women being non-consensually used for medical practice and abt forgotten/unknown women:(( i liked the mentions of growing up in blackgirlhood tho, very nostaligic. idk overall a very fine book, i learned, i teared up, i smiled, i empathized, i sighed. id reread a few of the poems if i got the chance i think. jasmine's a great writer and knows how to grab your attention with descriptive storytelling and rlly knows how to set a scene which i appreciate.

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moriahleigh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

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midnightreads1803's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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bladebailey's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

Jasmine Mans' poetry collection, titled Black Girl, Call Home, meditates on the themes of Black identity, womanhood and feminism, intersectionalism, homosexuality, rape, institutionalized violence, and much more. Suitable for adult readers of any level of familiarity to poetry, Mans' writing style is blunt and meaningful without overly obscuring the punchline. I personally endorse listening to Black Girl, Call Home as an audiobook (narrated by the author herself), because poetry is a living breathing art form and should be consumed as such. As someone who typically struggles with poetry, I genuinely enjoyed every piece within Mans' beloved and utterly necessary collection.

My favorite poems from the collection:
—Momma Said Dyke at the Kitchen Table
—1,000 Questions on Gender Roles for a Lesbian
—Whitney: Fairy Godmother, Whitney: 'Boy, Can That Girl Sang', Whitney: Gone, Whitney: Hologram

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