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566 reviews for:
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf
Ntozake Shange
4.29 AVERAGE
566 reviews for:
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf
Ntozake Shange
4.29 AVERAGE
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
& this is for colored girls who have considered
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
There were some poems were I could really relate and some that I couldn't. It's great work that showcases various black women's experiences as they are not the same.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Having both read the play/choreopoem and seen the movie, I don't know what to think of this work. The movie is quite different from the play; there is not connecting story in the play and entire monologues are given to entirely different characters in the movie. The subject matter is strong; the part about being raped by men you know, who you considered friends was particularly powerful. Shange writes her dialogue with the accent so that reading it can be somewhat difficult (e.g. "cd" is could). I imagine that this would be much better to watch being performed the way Shange meant it to be.
This is now one of my all time favorites. Why??? Because of its fluidity and emotion. I have several favorite passages, and some of which will be written in my journal, writing diary and book log for years to come. I would definitely gift this book to friends and family or re-read it too.
A quick yet jarring read. The Dedication, and how Shange has updated this collection for modern tribulations, along with Sorry, are my favorite portions of the book.
Oluwatosin Salau's death hits very close to home. She was Nigerian, an activist, abused by her family and just starting her life. I am all of these. Since hearing about her death, I have felt a deep seated sadness because that could have been me. And I don't mean that in an obscure way. I mean that in a I am a dark skinned Nigerian woman who led protests last week and was in exactly the same position that she was in. Except I lived.
I keep going back to this book, For Colored Girls, and I keep thinking about all the injustices I've faced and will still face. I think about how I'm going out to fight for the rights of men who won't hesitate to kill me if they want to. Men who will use all sorts of excuses to avoid standing up for black women who continue to stand up for them. And I think about the last sentence in this book;
& this is for colored girls who have considered suicide / but are moving to the ends of their rainbow
and I wonder if I'll live till the point where I'll consider moving to the end of my rainbow.
Rest in power, Tosin.
I keep going back to this book, For Colored Girls, and I keep thinking about all the injustices I've faced and will still face. I think about how I'm going out to fight for the rights of men who won't hesitate to kill me if they want to. Men who will use all sorts of excuses to avoid standing up for black women who continue to stand up for them. And I think about the last sentence in this book;
& this is for colored girls who have considered suicide / but are moving to the ends of their rainbow
and I wonder if I'll live till the point where I'll consider moving to the end of my rainbow.
Rest in power, Tosin.