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A review by jayisreading
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
I was excited when I heard that Warsan Shire was publishing a new collection of poems. I enjoyed Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth and the themes that she covered. Not surprisingly, the themes that came up in her new collection were just as thought-provoking and haunting, exploring girlhood/womanhood, borders (both personal and political), faith, among others.
That said, something about these poems didn’t quite land the same way that her earlier poems did. The poems didn’t read as cohesive as a whole and, even within their sections, seemed a little scattered.
What I do love about Shire’s writing is how multisensorial her poems are, making for a unique experience any time you read anything by her. This was certainly the case in this collection, even if the poems didn’t have the same impact as her previous works did.
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide, and War