TEACHING MY MOTHER HOW TO GIVE BIRTH- WARSAN SHIRE'S POIGNANT, SHARP, PIERCING POEMS.

"No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark"- Warsan Shire

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Listening to the author recite these poems, I felt as if she was sharing these very personal and intimate chapters of her life with me. Though they were far from expository, enough detail and emotion layered every line that the pictures her words painted were clear.

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"I am bloated with language I can't afford to forget"

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They are diverse in what they explore: her relationship with her mother and absentee father, her sister and cousins, coming of age and burgeoning sexuality, her mother's own sexual experience, her journey as a refugee, and her dreams.

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"Look at all these borders, foaming at the mouth with bodies broken and desperate"

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I felt as if I was being invited into the very heart of Shire with this immensely visceral collection. There is a sharp sensuality surrounding these poems, dark and light, love and violence. Stories in snapshots. It left me feeling everything in my head, heart, and guts.

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"I have my mother's mouth and my father's eyes. On my face they're still together"

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This was a piercing collection of poetry. Naked in the truths and the experiences they confer.

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"...And now my home is the mouth of a shark. Now my home is the barrel of a gun. I'll see you on the other side"

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