Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Description:
From spoken word poet Jasmine Mans comes an unforgettable poetry collection about race, feminism, and queer identity.
With echoes of Gwendolyn Brooks and Sonia Sanchez, Mans writes to call herself—and us—home. Each poem explores what it means to be a daughter of Newark, and America—and the painful, joyous path to adulthood as a young, queer Black woman.
Black Girl, Call Home is a love letter to the wandering Black girl and a vital companion to any woman on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing.
-Penguin Random House
Review:
This book of poems is seemingly timeless. Mans somehow manages to stir one's emotions in each and every line, whether they be grief or a longing for times past. She captures something that seems to be universal for a lot of black women: resilience. We can be angry, lonely, and scared at the same time as loving, soft, and reflective.
In the past, I made a point of avoiding works that discussed present day racial violence because it was devastating enough to witness it the first time. This work changed my mind; it's cathartic. These poems give me a feeling of collectivity, which pushes back against my tendency to experience my pain in solitude. To me, it says, "we can be each other's home."
Verdict:
A must read for Black folks, especially Black Americans.