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hades9stages's review
5.0
brand new poetry from Yọ̀mí Ṣódé, examining the lives of black british men and boys; contemporary masculinity deepened by family, misinterpreted by media, and complicated by the riches, and the costs, of belonging and inheritance. exploring the differences of impunity afforded to white and black peoples, and to white and black artists.
ṣódé asks what it means to find oneself between worlds- who is, and who isn’t, allowed ti be more than their origins? what do we owe each other? what do we owe ourselves.
anyone who’s followed or known me for a while is probably familiar with the fact that i don’t usually enjoy poetry. not because i don’t find it interesting or impressive, but just because i’m pretty oblivious to “deeper meanings” and metaphors most of the time, party because of the autism and partly because i don’t know how to pick them out and properly think about them.
but i found this book genuinely amazing. undoubtedly i’ll be reading more by yọ̀mí ṣódé in the future, his work is absolutely incredible, i could not look away, i read this in pretty much one go. some parts i’ve already reread.
i could not recommend this more, i recommend this to even people like me who usually don’t read poetry.
ṣódé is definitely someone special and i have a feeling he will be around and spoken about for a very very long time.
now i’m quite pleased with myself for buying a signed edition.
ṣódé asks what it means to find oneself between worlds- who is, and who isn’t, allowed ti be more than their origins? what do we owe each other? what do we owe ourselves.
anyone who’s followed or known me for a while is probably familiar with the fact that i don’t usually enjoy poetry. not because i don’t find it interesting or impressive, but just because i’m pretty oblivious to “deeper meanings” and metaphors most of the time, party because of the autism and partly because i don’t know how to pick them out and properly think about them.
but i found this book genuinely amazing. undoubtedly i’ll be reading more by yọ̀mí ṣódé in the future, his work is absolutely incredible, i could not look away, i read this in pretty much one go. some parts i’ve already reread.
i could not recommend this more, i recommend this to even people like me who usually don’t read poetry.
ṣódé is definitely someone special and i have a feeling he will be around and spoken about for a very very long time.
now i’m quite pleased with myself for buying a signed edition.
bigbeardedbookseller's review
5.0
I was sent this out of the blue by some lovely marketer at Penguin Books and thank you whoever that marketer was as I loved this collection of poetry/works by Yomi Ṣodi.
As always I’m always in awe of poets and writers who bare all to the public in their work, but this is an especially personal journey through the life of a young black man in London and the death of an important matriarch and the emotions that erupt from both of these circumstances.
Initially I found this difficult due to some of writing being Yoruba, but after exploring the nuance of the words I didn’t know and getting a better idea of the contextual use of some of the phrases and how adaptable they were, I found the rhythm and heart of the writing stunning.
Entwining chapters about the violence that Caravaggio consistently displayed and got away with, and the violence expressed against black bodies that is constantly got away with, exploring different cultures and diasporas, different generations, white expectations of black bodies, behaviours men are meant to display and what men still feel under all the braggadocio.
Stunning writing full of passion and anger, an awe inspiring exploration of self and culture that shines the light on places we don’t always want to explore.
As always I’m always in awe of poets and writers who bare all to the public in their work, but this is an especially personal journey through the life of a young black man in London and the death of an important matriarch and the emotions that erupt from both of these circumstances.
Initially I found this difficult due to some of writing being Yoruba, but after exploring the nuance of the words I didn’t know and getting a better idea of the contextual use of some of the phrases and how adaptable they were, I found the rhythm and heart of the writing stunning.
Entwining chapters about the violence that Caravaggio consistently displayed and got away with, and the violence expressed against black bodies that is constantly got away with, exploring different cultures and diasporas, different generations, white expectations of black bodies, behaviours men are meant to display and what men still feel under all the braggadocio.
Stunning writing full of passion and anger, an awe inspiring exploration of self and culture that shines the light on places we don’t always want to explore.
sphynxreads's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
A solid poetry collection focused on the frustrations and grief of Black Brittain. I was a little lost in some of the poems but the ones I did get were quite contemplative.
mouseyness's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I think this collection would be enhanced by hearing it read out loud. I couldn't help but feel like I was missing out on some of the lyricism by reading alone in my head.
bemurphy28's review
challenging
emotional
sad
4.0
this is beautifully written but I couldn’t give it five stars because to me this needs to be spoken to you rather than just read by yourself. also, listened to folklore while reading it and it made me cry <3