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A review by babiefats
Hull by Xandria Phillips
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
This was beautifully written. I had to work through poems, pause with certain turns of phrase and reread with different eyes. I devoured it in one sitting and marked poems I needed to with with later. I caught myself writing down several turns of phrase that had me stopping and mouthing "wow" silently to myself.
The collection itself is a testament to the body. The poems are grounded in humanness and whipped with white dominant structures. Between the lines the reader is thrust through intimacy, queerness, pain, love, sex, and solidity. Recurring formatting of poems added narrative and the result was devastating.
The only reason this was not a 5/5 for me is due solely to relatability. I felt every poem and I heard the author, but I myself was not apart of the situation. There is so much to say for a collection of poetry that sings to your own heart. While this one was beautiful and perfectly written, it was not my Cinderella experience.
The collection itself is a testament to the body. The poems are grounded in humanness and whipped with white dominant structures. Between the lines the reader is thrust through intimacy, queerness, pain, love, sex, and solidity. Recurring formatting of poems added narrative and the result was devastating.
The only reason this was not a 5/5 for me is due solely to relatability. I felt every poem and I heard the author, but I myself was not apart of the situation. There is so much to say for a collection of poetry that sings to your own heart. While this one was beautiful and perfectly written, it was not my Cinderella experience.