Reviews

Synopsis: This is a wide-ranging poetry anthology with subjects relating to what it means to be Black in America. There are sections on Living, God, Water, Magic. There are poems about generational trauma, grief and racism. They blend the African American experience with mythology, and biblical stories. There are thirty five poets included in this anthology including contemporary poets and historical voices.

My Thoughts: I very much enjoyed this book of poetry. There were many poems about racism and lynching, but also about black women’s hair and hot girl summer. The variety of poems show the wide spectrum of life for Black people in America. I really enjoyed the poems, and I highly recommend reading it!

If you loved Call us What We Carry or other poetry books, you’ll love this.

ensara's review against another edition

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4.5

Wow! It's been a while since I've read poetry I truly enjoyed. This collection is powerful, and complex, yet very accessible, as the structure of the book is great, and the "Outro" at the end of each poem gives you all the clarity you needed if there was any confusion. The copy I read was borrowed, but adding this to my list of books I NEED to purchase for my home library.

While I enjoyed the entire book these two poems really stuck out to me:
Vol. 1: Track 9: Like a Wildfire by Ashley Woodfolk
Vol. 4: Track 2: A Fable by Etheridge Knight

alexus_sb's review

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challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

4.5

Sometimes the outros were more of a hinderance, then helpful. I found a good number of them to be an unnecessary addition to the poems. Other than that, they were great! Moving, thought provoking and inspiring.

moonandstars24's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

amayaethomas's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

booksamongstfriends's review

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5.0

Now Poemhood a this put me at ease, calmed me, talked to me, educated me, and brought me back. I took my time working through the collection of works as I wanted to appreciate every one. While some poems emphasized black struggle, celebrated black resilience, and honored our journey others highlighted stories of grief, loss, and love. Yet, every entry felt connect and rooted. I will be buying the book and I definitely recommend it as it makes for a great library addition, gift, or table book.

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