A review by jayisreading
Song of My Softening by Omotara James

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

This was such a heartfelt collection that I know will touch certain readers more than others. I loved the way Omotara reflected on the intersections of being Black, fat, and queer in her poems with such grace and care. I also appreciated how her poems invited the reader to reflect on how they perceive their own body, how one can make space for themself in the world with the body they have.

Most of the poems themselves were beautifully crafted, easily conveying Omotara’s emotions and thoughts. I say easily in the sense that I found her poems quite approachable for all readers. The poems themselves may not resonate with everyone, especially considering how personal they are, but I think there’s a lot that the reader can take away from them.

Some favorites: “Half Girl, Then Elegy,” “Untouched,” “Ceremony,” “Ice Sculpture,” “On Repetition,” “Bang and a Whimper,” “Exhibition of the Queered Woman,” “The Butcher: A Love Poem,” “Sonnet of the Bull,” “In Lieu of Ode,” “Bodies Like Oceans,” “Tripartite,” “Museum of What Is Owed,” “Kiese Says, Black People Deserve Beautiful Sentences, but a Fragment is the Best I Can Do / Songbook for the Names I Have Been Called,” and “Last Days of Summer” 
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