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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Really really good and made me feel very emotional.
This is an unforgettable, heartbreaking, and haunting collection. The poems explore powerful themes such as family, trauma, immigration, displacement, resilience, and womanhood. Some lines in this collection are so haunting that they stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. It beautifully captures the complexity and raw emotion of the human experience. Very impactful.
sad
tense
medium-paced
A little esoteric, and a little dark. Wish I'd found the Glossary at the back before I finished the book!
“No one would leave home unless home chased you to the shore. ” - Warsan Shire’s Bless the Daughter Raised
So many powerful, raw poems! Some of my favorite and striking were ‘Bless The Blood’, ‘Assimilation’, ‘Bless Your Ugly Daughter’, and ‘Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle.’ Warsan creates beautiful, descriptive masterpieces and deserves all the recognition!
“But God, doesn’t she wear the world well” - excerpt from ‘Bless Your Ugly Daughter’
So many powerful, raw poems! Some of my favorite and striking were ‘Bless The Blood’, ‘Assimilation’, ‘Bless Your Ugly Daughter’, and ‘Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle.’ Warsan creates beautiful, descriptive masterpieces and deserves all the recognition!
“But God, doesn’t she wear the world well” - excerpt from ‘Bless Your Ugly Daughter’
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This book feels like a familiar ache from my childhood, even though Warsan and I had different lives. I feel the pain for and of her mother, and themes that occur regarding the woman's body, the pain of living in one. There are many phrases I loved to linger on - do I put meaning to her words, or am I understanding how I, as a reader, should listen to her story?
Warsan has a way with words that captures the inexpressible emotions, and how it feels to hope for something better while losing a part of your own. I loved that I was not only learning about Somalia as a culture, and how close it is to mine, and Islam; but I'm also learning about social issues I was previously not aware of.
Would definitely buy a copy and take my time on the next re-read!
Warsan has a way with words that captures the inexpressible emotions, and how it feels to hope for something better while losing a part of your own. I loved that I was not only learning about Somalia as a culture, and how close it is to mine, and Islam; but I'm also learning about social issues I was previously not aware of.
Would definitely buy a copy and take my time on the next re-read!
- My favorite pieces were "Assimilation", "Home", "Are you afraid of the dark?", "Unbearable Weight of Staying", "Victoria in Illiyin", "Saint Hooyo" sparked something in me about motherhood, and "Bless Maymuun's Mind" hits home.
- Worth noting: the graphic scene of "Trichotillomania," "Bless This House", and "Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle."
Some of my favorite quotes (for me, to remember reading this book again):
"if he raises his voice we will flee
if he looks bored we will pack our bags"
"My body is burning with the shame of not belonging, my body
is longing. I am the sin of memory and the absence of memory."
"Your girlhood an incubation for madness."
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Islamophobia
Powerful.
I took this out from my local library but I think I need to buy a copy for my personal collection.
I took this out from my local library but I think I need to buy a copy for my personal collection.
emotional