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deckanddaughter's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t like admitting it but I struggle with poetry. I like poems. Individually. But collections of poetry are hard for me. Not because they are bad. But because I am easily distracted and they don’t tie me to the page as much as prose does.
But Siaara Freeman doesn’t tie me to the page. She sings me to it. She haunts me with it. She is certainly the Lake Erie Siren and every word in this collection transfixes me like the swirling waters of moonlight dancing on a lake. The very heart and soul spun out in these poems are going to be seared into my brain for seasons to come.
This is the first poetry collection I’ve ever finished in mere hours (not counting when I had to set it down to parent my kiddo) and I imagine it’ll be the first poetry collection I’ll return to.
I love the style, I love the history, I love the pop culture references, I love the deep personal experience, the deep cultural exposure, the raw truth of grief and love and strength and righteous fury.
I’ve never felt a deep desire to go to a live poetry slam or reading but after reading this? I’d give my right pinky toe to hear Siaara Freeman speak her art aloud.
But Siaara Freeman doesn’t tie me to the page. She sings me to it. She haunts me with it. She is certainly the Lake Erie Siren and every word in this collection transfixes me like the swirling waters of moonlight dancing on a lake. The very heart and soul spun out in these poems are going to be seared into my brain for seasons to come.
This is the first poetry collection I’ve ever finished in mere hours (not counting when I had to set it down to parent my kiddo) and I imagine it’ll be the first poetry collection I’ll return to.
I love the style, I love the history, I love the pop culture references, I love the deep personal experience, the deep cultural exposure, the raw truth of grief and love and strength and righteous fury.
I’ve never felt a deep desire to go to a live poetry slam or reading but after reading this? I’d give my right pinky toe to hear Siaara Freeman speak her art aloud.
giada_andolfo's review against another edition
5.0
Una raccolta di poesie che racconta la cultura e la condizione della donna nera in America. Una storia personale che diventa la voce di tutte le donne.
Bellissimo
Bellissimo
tjonesnp09's review against another edition
4.0
Ms. Siaara Freeman brings us her poetry in an “uncut” fashion. Raw and openly honest!
It helps us understand her growing up after her father’s murder. The struggle of finding herself versus being what everyone else wants her to be as a black girl, as a black woman. Quite a few of her poems touched me deeply, as I to have suffered losses. Remembering our Elders in “A Lineage of Language”. All lines we cherish and remember while sitting around our Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents and their “catchy” but true proverbs that BEGAT other proverbs. “Every goodbye ain’t gone, and every shut eye ain’t sleep.”
“Self” Struggles gives us the notion to look inside ourselves… as individuals we are our own nemesis..
“Wasteful”, definitely depicts a heavy heart.
Despite growing up without a father, drugs and murder being a part of her everyday surroundings in Cleveland,, she definitely shows that an “Urban Girl Exists” and through self-love, can beat the odds!
Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for access to this literary work of poetry. Although I am not clear on the “retelling of fairytales”, Siaara Freeman brings it, and you better be ready!
It helps us understand her growing up after her father’s murder. The struggle of finding herself versus being what everyone else wants her to be as a black girl, as a black woman. Quite a few of her poems touched me deeply, as I to have suffered losses. Remembering our Elders in “A Lineage of Language”. All lines we cherish and remember while sitting around our Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents and their “catchy” but true proverbs that BEGAT other proverbs. “Every goodbye ain’t gone, and every shut eye ain’t sleep.”
“Self” Struggles gives us the notion to look inside ourselves… as individuals we are our own nemesis..
“Wasteful”, definitely depicts a heavy heart.
Despite growing up without a father, drugs and murder being a part of her everyday surroundings in Cleveland,, she definitely shows that an “Urban Girl Exists” and through self-love, can beat the odds!
Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for access to this literary work of poetry. Although I am not clear on the “retelling of fairytales”, Siaara Freeman brings it, and you better be ready!
stitching_ghost's review against another edition
4.0
I was already a fan of Siaara's spoken word work so when I saw an ARC of her written work on NetGalley you can imagine my excitement.
While I vastly prefer her spoken work to her written work this was an interesting read. This book is a lot of things, it's grappling with loss, both that of the idea of who someone is and that of that very person. It's a deep cut on what it means to be from and of somewhere. It's beautiful and sad, vibrant and bleak at times.
There's quite a few pop culture references that probably went over my head in there (references to Netflix shows, actors, musicians), so if like me you're not much of a TV/movie watcher you might find yourself googling quite a bit.
While I vastly prefer her spoken work to her written work this was an interesting read. This book is a lot of things, it's grappling with loss, both that of the idea of who someone is and that of that very person. It's a deep cut on what it means to be from and of somewhere. It's beautiful and sad, vibrant and bleak at times.
There's quite a few pop culture references that probably went over my head in there (references to Netflix shows, actors, musicians), so if like me you're not much of a TV/movie watcher you might find yourself googling quite a bit.
mhworth's review against another edition
5.0
Freeman’s poetry is powerful, contemporary, lyrical, and heartbreaking. If you’re familiar with button poetry, it’s not hard to see why they published or Urbanshee. It was a little long for my taste, but every poem was powerful and different in its approach to black womanhood in America today. I’m glad I read it!
Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for this unbiased review
Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for this unbiased review
evilskin's review
4.0
When it comes to poetry it's always hard to give a rating. The writing is full of someone's emotions that you're just getting a glimpse of through a tiny crack in the door. And this collection in particular included some of the rawest writing I've faced, as personal and bare as it could get, yet so universal in its pain. Siaara shined both in the writing style and the topics she touched with her poetry (grief, healing, death, class, race, sexuality). However, after seeing the Button Poetry videos, I have to admit some of these pieces were clearly made for spoken poetry, to be recited, and nothing compares to the sound of those words coming directly out of her. The writing itself, isolated from the voice, doesn't do it any justice.
Some of my favorite poems in these were The part of the story I failed to mention, Waste(full), It is hard to tell someone on fire that you're drowning and Hexes for my exes
Overall, I would say this is a solid poetry collection, perfect for anyone who isn't uncomfortable to face every emotion it attempts and succeeds at portraying.
Note: thanks both to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review
Some of my favorite poems in these were The part of the story I failed to mention, Waste(full), It is hard to tell someone on fire that you're drowning and Hexes for my exes
Overall, I would say this is a solid poetry collection, perfect for anyone who isn't uncomfortable to face every emotion it attempts and succeeds at portraying.
Note: thanks both to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review