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A review by thebakerbookworm
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I read these poems slowly, just a few every day, and I highly recommend. I feel like usually I’m rushing through books, trying to read as much as possible; it was so nice to just take it slow with this one and really absorb the poems.
Touching on ideas of grief, memory, and identity, these poems also dig in to collective trauma, and what it’s like to experience tragedy together. She uses letters from history to reflect on present-day events, and even the formatting of her words have meaning (for example, the words of one poem form an image of a whale).
Honestly, my words can’t do these poems justice, so I’m just gonna say—even if you don’t usually read poetry, there’s something here for you. I recommend for anyone who needs some reflection on the past two years.
Touching on ideas of grief, memory, and identity, these poems also dig in to collective trauma, and what it’s like to experience tragedy together. She uses letters from history to reflect on present-day events, and even the formatting of her words have meaning (for example, the words of one poem form an image of a whale).
Honestly, my words can’t do these poems justice, so I’m just gonna say—even if you don’t usually read poetry, there’s something here for you. I recommend for anyone who needs some reflection on the past two years.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Death, Racism, and War