A review by hannahbananali
A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris B. Hill
4.0
This poetry collection is a history, a tribute, and a love letter to black women. And it’s pretty amazing.
I know poetry can seem daunting. But this collection kind of defies the traditional form. It’s history spoken in poetry. It’s a narrative written in verse. While I loved the poems dedicated to the women (a few favorites were “Black Bird Medley”, “#SandySpeaks is a Choral Refrain”, and really all the poems devoted to Assata Shakur), I was surprised by how moved I was when Hill shifted to her own personal life. The poems written to and about her son gave this collection a focused, personal touch compared to the wider scope of the odes to the women. I didn’t realize that the collection needed them until I read them.
I know poetry can seem daunting. But this collection kind of defies the traditional form. It’s history spoken in poetry. It’s a narrative written in verse. While I loved the poems dedicated to the women (a few favorites were “Black Bird Medley”, “#SandySpeaks is a Choral Refrain”, and really all the poems devoted to Assata Shakur), I was surprised by how moved I was when Hill shifted to her own personal life. The poems written to and about her son gave this collection a focused, personal touch compared to the wider scope of the odes to the women. I didn’t realize that the collection needed them until I read them.