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inkdrinkers's review
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
"By the time I realize what we are? It is already too late. We are an urban novel you will skim over at Walmart, a four-minute smirk on Fox 8's face, what would occur if Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino produced a film under Eazy-E's direction." (X Things They Never Tell You About The Drug Dealer's Daughter)
Urbanshee is a raw and honest exploration of Freeman's life as a black woman, daughter, and poet as she navigates the grief of losing her father and her experiences growing up.
This collection covered so many topics! There were so many poems I really enjoyed, but my favorites were: Haint Blue, In Attempts to Bring You Back, Haint Black, Meet You At The Crossroads (Erasure), Paranoia, Urbanshee Predicts the Birth of Toni Morrison & Writes Her a Letter, I Wish I Could Have Kissed Devon Wilson on the Mouth, and The Such Thing as the Stupid Question. Overall, chapter four, a Name She Buried, was my favorite, as it contained a lot of poems and lines that I enjoyed and related to.
I find it difficult to talk about the things I dislike in poetry - because it could very well be the thing that someone else enjoyed most. I enjoyed a lot of Freeman's longer pieces that blurred the line between poetry and prose, but some of them did feel like they drug on or repeated themselves too frequently for my taste. I also wish that the over arching theme had been more present. The mythology aspect is definitely in these poems, but I wouldn't call the entire collection a focus on mythology like the title suggests as many of the poems don't contain references or allusions and are more focused on other literary and media references.
Overall, I did enjoy a lot of these poems, but there were only a handful I feel like I'd read again. Freeman has so much talent and I enjoyed this collection enough that I'm excited to pick up more work in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with a copy for an honest review.
Urbanshee is a raw and honest exploration of Freeman's life as a black woman, daughter, and poet as she navigates the grief of losing her father and her experiences growing up.
This collection covered so many topics! There were so many poems I really enjoyed, but my favorites were: Haint Blue, In Attempts to Bring You Back, Haint Black, Meet You At The Crossroads (Erasure), Paranoia, Urbanshee Predicts the Birth of Toni Morrison & Writes Her a Letter, I Wish I Could Have Kissed Devon Wilson on the Mouth, and The Such Thing as the Stupid Question. Overall, chapter four, a Name She Buried, was my favorite, as it contained a lot of poems and lines that I enjoyed and related to.
I find it difficult to talk about the things I dislike in poetry - because it could very well be the thing that someone else enjoyed most. I enjoyed a lot of Freeman's longer pieces that blurred the line between poetry and prose, but some of them did feel like they drug on or repeated themselves too frequently for my taste. I also wish that the over arching theme had been more present. The mythology aspect is definitely in these poems, but I wouldn't call the entire collection a focus on mythology like the title suggests as many of the poems don't contain references or allusions and are more focused on other literary and media references.
Overall, I did enjoy a lot of these poems, but there were only a handful I feel like I'd read again. Freeman has so much talent and I enjoyed this collection enough that I'm excited to pick up more work in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with a copy for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, and Death of parent
bittennailbooks's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I have received an ARC of Urbanshee from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
Urbanshee is a brave and intimate look into Siaara Freeman's life and childhood. She is successful in giving readers a look into many of the raw wounds she displays throughout her poetry and playful interpretations of childhood competitiveness and schoolyard games. She does not fail to give readers an unedited view of the struggles of growing up impoverished, the overwhelming loss she has faced, and the streets which inspired her poetic career.
I was initially drawn in by the cover and descriptions of "retelling of fairy tales and mythological stories", I think the retellings portion was a bit lost on me. My criticisms only lie within the heavy use of "&" throughout but that might be the artists stylistic choice. Admittedly, poetry is not my main genre but I am grateful for the push out of my comfort zone.
If you are a slam poetry/poetry fan, I would recommend giving this book a shot.
Urbanshee is a brave and intimate look into Siaara Freeman's life and childhood. She is successful in giving readers a look into many of the raw wounds she displays throughout her poetry and playful interpretations of childhood competitiveness and schoolyard games. She does not fail to give readers an unedited view of the struggles of growing up impoverished, the overwhelming loss she has faced, and the streets which inspired her poetic career.
I was initially drawn in by the cover and descriptions of "retelling of fairy tales and mythological stories", I think the retellings portion was a bit lost on me. My criticisms only lie within the heavy use of "&" throughout but that might be the artists stylistic choice. Admittedly, poetry is not my main genre but I am grateful for the push out of my comfort zone.
If you are a slam poetry/poetry fan, I would recommend giving this book a shot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
Poetry Collection
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