A review by czidya
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire

dark emotional fast-paced

3.5

This collection was a mixed bag, but where it was good it was outstanding. Shire's writing is richly symbolic as it deals with challenging topics like abuse, misogyny, and the experiences of refugees. At times I found the imagery so dense it was impenetrable- unfortunately many of the poems left no impression on me at all because I couldn't really make sense of the verbal collage. However, Shire gets the balance right more often than not, creating lush emotional poems that share a fraught but profound relationship with God and religion, as the collection's title suggests.
My favorites of the collection:

• Filial Cannibalism
• Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle
• Bless the Camels
• Hooyo Full of Grace
• Joyride
• Backwards

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pedophilia, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death and War