Teaching my mother how to give birth

Teaching my mother how to give birth

Warsan Shire, 1988-

Book - 2011

What elevates 'teaching my mother how to give birth', what gives the poems their disturbing brilliance, is Warsan Shire's ability to give simple, beautiful eloquence to the veiled world where sensuality lives in the dominant narrative of Islam; reclaiming the more nuanced truths of earlier times - as in Tayeb Salih's work - and translating to the realm of lyric the work of the likes of Nawal El Saadawi. As Rumi said, Love will find its way through all languages on its own ; in 'teaching my mother how to give birth, ' Warsan Shire's debut pamphlet, we witness the unearthing of a poet who finds her way through all preconceptions to strike the heart directly. 'teaching my mother how to give birth' r...epresents a refuge for womanhood and for exile, a chant of praise for resilience, a claiming of - and fierce pride in - motherhood with all its joys and challenges.

Saved in:
Place a Hold Save to List Email this

2nd Floor Show me where

821.92/Shire
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 821.92/Shire Checked In
Subjects
Somali poetry > 21st century.
English poetry > 21st century.
Published
London : Mouthmark 2011.
Language
English
Main Author
Warsan Shire, 1988- (-)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
34 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN
9781905233298
  • What your mother told you after your father left
  • Your mother's first kiss
  • Things we had lost in the summer
  • Maymuun's mouth
  • Grandfather's hands
  • Bone
  • Snow
  • Birds
  • Beauty
  • The kitchen
  • Fire
  • When we last saw your father
  • You were conceived
  • Trying to swim with God
  • Questions for Miriam
  • Conversations about home
  • Old Spice
  • My foreign wife is dying and does not want to be touched
  • Ugly
  • Tea with our grandmothers
  • In love and in war.
Review by Library Journal Review

Shire (Her Blue Body) entered mainstream pop culture as the poetic voice behind -Beyoncé's video album Lemonade, but she had already garnered a following through her poetry chapbooks and her use of social media (which includes publishing poetry on Tumblr). Born in Kenya and raised in London, Shire was named that city's first Young Poet Laureate in 2014. Hearing Shire read her own work here, it is easy to see why she has gained such loyal and avid fans. The strength, lyricism, and devastating honesty of these poems are brought home much more clearly in the audio version than in the chapbook, and that is saying a great deal because when experienced on the page, the poems are incredibly moving. Through the author's reading, however, we are truly able to hear how stunning Shire's voice is. Poems such as "Your Mother's First Kiss" and "Trying To Swim with God" leave the listener stunned at their vibrancy and power. Shire's poetic ground is fertile and varied, examining such issues as class and race, the daily experience of women's lives, and the struggles of voiceless and disenfranchised members of society. She is a master of the "turn," building emotional resonance that leads to what amounts to a poetic coup de grâce, an emotional gut punch that has a profound and lasting effect. VERDICT Highly recommended.-Wendy -Galgan, St. Francis Coll., Brooklyn © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Similar Items