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sydsnot71's review against another edition
5.0
Surge is a hard but beautiful book singing fury and compassion. A reminder to remember what is has been conveniently forgotten. It links the New Cross Fire of 1981 with the Grenfell disaster. It asks questions about the society we live in. It gives the voiceless a voice. It reminded me - not in style but in its intention - of Anna Akhmatova's 'Requiem'
(from Requiem)
“And can you describe this?”
And I answered:
“Yes, I can.”
What Bernard tries to describe is sometimes hard to read.
Every poem should be read here but the stand-outs for me were 'Songbook', '+' and '-', 'Hiss' and 'Flowers'.
"Will anyone speak of this
the way the flowers do..."
Read it.
And weep.
(from Requiem)
“And can you describe this?”
And I answered:
“Yes, I can.”
What Bernard tries to describe is sometimes hard to read.
Every poem should be read here but the stand-outs for me were 'Songbook', '+' and '-', 'Hiss' and 'Flowers'.
"Will anyone speak of this
the way the flowers do..."
Read it.
And weep.
amieg17's review against another edition
5.0
This was an absolutely tremendous collection of poetry. Although I felt like a few in the middle of the collection lost their way a little bit, the meaning behind this poems.....I'm so glad that I got to study these as Bernard gives a voice to those that have been silenced/forgotten by the media.
Highly recommend this collection.
Highly recommend this collection.
chavonnwshen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
hannah_stebbings's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
I didn't really understand some of the language used but I think if I re read it in a few months I might enjoy it more.