Reviews

Feminine Gospels: Poems by Carol Ann Duffy

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livrawds's review against another edition

2.0

I can’t in good conciseness give this more than two stars I read her war poetry for class and didn’t love so I thought I’d try another of hers and feminism ideals which I love seemed like a good shout for me and there are some good lines and stanza however as a collection and majority I didn’t really enjoy it and provoked any thoughts which is my goal for poetry and to be wowed and I wasn’t really:,(

frandelaney's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

i struggled to complete this poetry anthology primarily because each poem i found varied in substance and how it flowed, i found most of the poems quite difficult to emotionally understand and analyse what they meant. however i found some poems such as ‘beautiful’ eye opening to read through, easier to digest. ‘the laughter of the stafford girls high’ i was particularly confused reading until i read an analysis of it and found it interesting to dissect once i reread it. probably won’t read again though :0

megelizabeth's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective

4.0

"And now you shine like a snowgirl,

a buttercup under a chin, the wide blue yonder

you squeal at and fly in,

like a jewelled cave,

turquoise and diamond and gold, opening out

at the end of a tunnel of years."

Being completely honest, this has been my least favourite collection by Duffy that I’ve read so far, but it’s still Carol Ann Duffy and so it’s of course still really fucking good. There are some utterly excellent and truly powerful poems in here and I loved the chaotic, otherworldly vibes of many of them. It was just that, for me, it doesn’t feel overly cohesive as a collection, and I also wouldn’t describe all of its poems as ‘feminine gospels’ - but there are some absolute gems and, while I’m still not fully sure how I feel about it, the Stafford Girls poem is definitely one which will haunt me for a long time!

Content Warnings

hesmykindofgirl's review against another edition

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4.0

another book where I feel if I wasn't forced to analysis it to death for school I would enjoy. BUT Duffy does write amazingly (it's written like it's begging to be read out loud !!) and overall did enjoy !!

ph03b5's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

telly_in_town's review against another edition

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4.0

Though I can’t personally relate to the themes of motherhood in this poetry collection, the rest were fantastically written.
I especially enjoyed the poem beautiful as I think it serves as the life lots of women lead (tragically).
A wonderful collection from my favourite lesbian.