thomasgoddard's review
5.0
Another bit of poetry for this evening.
The collection tackles subjects surrounding the theme of race and deafness. The things unsaid but heard loudly throughout society. If you're listening. Or if you can read the signs.
The other day I heard twitter is introducing a voice tweet feature and I'm not sure why, but my first thought was... That's a shame really. If it takes off, there's a lot of users who won't be able to engage with it.
A lot of the world isn't geared towards the hard of hearing, but twitter is. A lot of social media is. In the same way it isn't suited to people with visual issues. Everything we do is done from our particular perspective and we often leave out people who differ in their own ways. It pays to remember that.
Particular favourites in the collection were Jamaican British and Dear Hearing World. For those alone, pick up this collection. It's a worthy addition to any bookshelf.
The collection tackles subjects surrounding the theme of race and deafness. The things unsaid but heard loudly throughout society. If you're listening. Or if you can read the signs.
The other day I heard twitter is introducing a voice tweet feature and I'm not sure why, but my first thought was... That's a shame really. If it takes off, there's a lot of users who won't be able to engage with it.
A lot of the world isn't geared towards the hard of hearing, but twitter is. A lot of social media is. In the same way it isn't suited to people with visual issues. Everything we do is done from our particular perspective and we often leave out people who differ in their own ways. It pays to remember that.
Particular favourites in the collection were Jamaican British and Dear Hearing World. For those alone, pick up this collection. It's a worthy addition to any bookshelf.
shanyeahh's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
4.5
I enjoyed reading this collection because it so beautifully cracked open many experiences in Antrobus' life, including developing his own communication with the hearing world around him. Honorable mentions from this collection are the Samantha series and Dear Hearing World.
louisehowe's review
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Eye opening and reflective subject written in beautifully metred and methodical poetry. A joy to read.
foggy_rosamund's review
4.0
In this debut collection, Antrobus explores different aspects of his identity, particularly being d/Deaf and being Jamaican-British. This book also delves into Deaf history, and looks at relationships between fathers and sons. I particularly admired Antrobus's focus on Deaf women in history, as I find I rarely see male poets writing about female historical figures. I found this collection witty, precise, and full of carefully controlled rage. Many of my favourite poems were about some aspect of Deafness, such as Conversation With the Art Teacher (A Translation Attempt) which is a wonderful attempt at capturing the fluidity of Sign and the deficiencies of written English, as well as capturing the art teacher's story. There is also a wonderful take-down of Ted Hughes' poem Deaf School in which Antrobus takes apart Hughes' ignorant depiction of Deaf children. He includes a number of poems about figures in Deaf history, such as Laura Bridgeman and Mable Gardiner Hubbards, as well as a beautiful sequence about a woman known as Samantha, a Deaf Jamaican woman who moved to England in the 1980s. This is a fluid, confident book that explores how we use language and what it means to have a voice. An excellent collection that I recommend.
duggireads's review
4.0
This is so clever and the order is so beautifully constructed. It provides a really insightful and enthralling insight into the D/deaf community, which I knew very little about. The themes weave together, seamlessly blending.