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Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'
I Can't Talk About the Trees Without the Blood by Tiana Clark
1 review
ceallaighsbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
âall  I    hear   is your name falling / & beating  Kalief    Kalief    KaliefKaliefKalief / this is such a poor offering but I am pouring it on the ground / like good rain & whatever softens the earth is your name / whatever might grow from that darkening bright spot is your nameâŚ
â& Kalief / what is there to say / after so much rain / the ground is swollen with your nameâ
â from â800 Days: Libationâ
TITLEâI Canât Talk About the Trees Without the Blood
AUTHORâTiana Clark
PUBLISHEDâ2018
âHow do we stand on the dead and smile? I carry so many black souls / in my skin, sometimes I swear it vibrates, like a tuning fork when struck.â â from âSoil Horizonâ
GENREâpoetry
MAIN THEMESâthe Black experience, Black culture, biracial identity, sex, racism, the South, Christianity, parental relationships, art, trauma
âI was crushed. I am crushing / the flood, overwhelming. What now? / There is a dead cockroach in the corner. / I wonât pick it up. I keep sweeping / (around) / the thing on the floor.â â from âDead Bugâ
WRITING STYLEââď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
CHARACTERSân/a
PLOTân/a
BONUS ELEMENT/Sâ the poem after Nina Simone (one of my favorite musicians) was my favorite! I also loved the poem about Kalief Browder đ, and âSoil Horizonâ and âDead Bug.â
PHILOSOPHYââď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
These poems were definitely not a comfortable read but Clarkâs voice, raw feeling, and brutal forthrightness along with her gorgeous command of language and poetic structure made the journey well worth the pain.
Â
âYou have to stay mad / your whole damn life.â â from âThe Rime of Nina Simoneâ
TW // racism, racial slurs, sexual assault, sexual content, sexual violence, religious bigotry
Further Readingâ
- Equilibrium, by Tiana Clark
- Collected Poems: 1950-2012, by Adrienne Rich
- Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine
- In the Mecca, by Gwendolyn Brooks
- The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks
- Complete Writings, by Phillis Wheatley
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
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