Home is Not a Country - Safia Elhillo

I chose to read this because the title immediately resonated with me: Home is definitely not a country for me, and I’m sure it isn’t for many people. Home is something that I continuously search for, and find or have found in multiple places at different times in my life. It’s a tough feeling to explain to someone who was born and raised in the same place as their parents were. It’s a constant feeling of sometimes belonging in parts, and most of the time not, finding happiness in certain things, and never understanding others, and so on.

Safia Elhillo’s Home is Not a Country is a beautiful story in verse which I read in nearly one sitting, holding my heart in my hand. Nima feels divided between the life she lives and the life she could have had elsewhere, where her mother and deceased father grew up and fell in love. She doesn’t feel like she belongs and searches for answers in old photos, movies, songs, and stories, looking for signs of who she is and where she comes from. The only person who seems to understand her is her best friend Haitham, but their relationship is changing and they are drifting apart. Suddenly she notices the appearance of another presence, a girl like her who has the same name her parents were going to name her, but didn’t, Yasmeen.

Home is Not a Country is gorgeous poetry, magical realism, strong themes, a beautiful main character who I fell in love with, and is all in all a must read! 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

My 2020 in Books

(Narrowing this list down from nearly 100 to 12 was really, really hard!)

Despite everything that has been going on around us this year, many extraordinary books were released. it was hard to do but I was able to narrow my absolute favorite reads from 2020 down to 12, and I highly recommend them to everyone! I also have a huge pile of 2020 releases that I still haven’t got to yet, so look out for reviews of them in the next few months, as well as more reviews of children’s books! You can click on the pictures above to read more about my favorite 2020 books, or check out all of my 2020 reads here.

Reading saved me many times this year: I devoured so many books of all genres and topics, learnt so much, and reflected on so many things. My kids transitioned into distance learning in March and with that huge change I’ve been all the more involved helping them learn to read, and storytime has become even more important in this house. Hopefully one day soon our libraries will be open for browsing again, but until then we will continue adding to our kidlit library whenever we can afford to, and discover as many amazing books as we can! Keep an eye out for some kidlit reviews in January for Multicultural Children’s Book Day! #ReadYourWorld

As always, post any comments, recommendations, and/or questions below, or send me an email! May your 2021 be happy, healthy, and safe <3

Resistencia - Mark Eisner and Tina Escaja

Resistencia: Poems of Protest and Revolution is a gorgeous collection of poems edited by Mark Eisner and Tina Escaja, with a foreword by Julia Alvarez. The theme of the collection, as the title aptly relates, is resistance, struggle, fight, taking back the power, protest, revolution. Including both well-known (to me) poets, and lesser known (to me) poets, Resistencia provides us with an inclusive and diverse anthology of Latin and South American voices, of yesterday, of today, and of tomorrow. 

I absolutely LOVED that this collection is bilingual!! I appreciate this so much as a multilingual individual, raising my own multilingual little family. It is so important for me to be able to read words in their original language, especially when it comes to poetry. The English translation is laid out side by side with the Spanish, French, Quechua, Portuguese originals, making this really a completely immersive read. 

This anthology is a must read: a powerful representation of all Latinx people especially those most often excluded and erased. It is poetry of history, of cultures erased, of struggle, but also poetry of hope and fight. There are so many themes resting within these poems: war, oppression, traditions, family, identity, belonging, womanhood, erasure… I’m so happy that the editors created this anthology, bringing us voices that I personally had never heard before, and making me want to read more. This book is beautiful, and one that I have personally pre-ordered as I want to hold it in my hands and read it again and again.

“And nothing

nothing would quell my hatred quite so

much as a pretty pool

of blood

made

with those sharp broad blades

that strip to the skin

our rum-rich hills”

(From So Many Times by Léon-Gontran Damas).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this anthology in exchange for an honest review.

Finna - Nate Marshall

I read the first poem in this collection, put it down, pre-ordered it from my local bookstore, and went right back into it. Nate Marshall’s poetry is wonderful to read, he covers so many topics and emotions and questions in his work, celebrates language, family, joy, friendship, Chicago, and evokes heritage, racism, oppression, and white supremacy. 

Definition of finna, created by the author: fin·na /ˈfinə/ contraction: (1) going to; intending to [rooted in African American Vernacular English] (2) eye dialect spelling of “fixing to” (3) Black possibility; Black futurity; Blackness as tomorrow

Finna celebrates Black vernacular, the verses lyrical and rhythmic, smart and intriguing. Nate Marshall conjures up images of his life, lessons learned, moments experienced, that tie in with general experiences, and the experiences and lives of those who came before us. There are moments that are hard to read, a punch in the gut, but also moments that are beautiful, a celebration of Black life, of Black joy. There are also moments where the poet asks important questions about masculinity and misogyny, and about violence (including the violence of words), and erasure. 

I recommend this wonderful collection of poems to everyone. Language is a spectacular living and evolving tool that is part of us all, and all words have meaning, all phrases important. No parts of our languages should be censored, erased, or made to be less important than others. Nate Marshall”s celebration of poetry, of living, of Black vernacular is just wonderful. A must read. I can’t wait to get a physical copy in my hands!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loveish - Sakshi Narula

It’s April, and therefore National Poetry Month, so no better time than now to review a collection of poems by a new (for me) poet. Sakshi Narula’s Loveish is in three parts: Love/Utopia, Lust/Passion, and Loveish/Melancholia. 

I prefer to read poetry on regular hard copy books, as often the formatting and lay-out of poems disappears in an ebook format. I would love to reread this in hard copy, and might visit that idea at a later date, as I’m sure the formatting of the verses adds an extra punch to the words. In any case, this is a lovely collection of poems, all dealing with love in its many formats: pure love, happy love, sad love, longing, grieving love, dreaming love, real love, real life, imagined love… Love in all its shapes and appearances, as a bringer of happiness and vessel of pain, and everything in between. 

I related to some poems more than others, lingered on some and skipped through some others. I love how honest Sakshi Narula is, she writes from the heart, each verse leaves a trail of longing, of memory. I firmly believe that this collection should be savoured slowly, read in parts and not rushed through, as I found something special in most of the poems I read.

The cover, and the illustrations inside the book are gorgeous, and a perfect match for the poems.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Modern Sudanese Poetry - Adil Babikir

The work of a translator is exceptionally difficult. The translator has to convey the message of words written by another person without actually knowing that person, but they also need to make sure they flow correctly in the target language, so much so that the reader should never be able to tell that the text is not in the original language. Poetry is generally full of metaphors, meter, rhythm, and anecdotes that make translation all the more difficult. Adil Babikir has done an amazing job in the translation of these poems into English from Arabic, a task I can only imagine was intense and most probably agonizingly difficult at times!

Modern Sudanese Poetry is an anthology of Sudanese poems both curated and translated by Adil Babikir. The collection also contains a detailed preface about the anthology and the poets, why each one was chosen, and the reason why certain areas may be lacking (southern Sudanese poetry/spoken word for example, or poems that the editor was unable to secure publishing rights to). The collection spans 6 decades of Sudanese poetry (from the 1960’s until today), and includes both male and female poets (although I would like to have seen more women featured from the earlier period). I had personally not heard of any of these poets before and am grateful to Adil Babikir for the work they have done to bring us these wonderful works of art into the English language.

I read this collection slowly, savoring each poem, giving each poet time to linger in my head. There are many cultural references in the poems, a love for a homeland torn by war, but also hope, resistance and love. There is also so much beauty within this collection, poems that sing to you, twirl you around, and break your heart in two. I would love to read more content by each and every poet featured!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this collection. I encourage all poetry lovers to grab a copy and delve into the world of Sudanese poetry, you will not be disappointed.

#ReadAfrica2018 #ReadAfrica2019 challenge Book 16: Sudan

Sanctuary Somewhere - Brenna Dimmig

When I picked this book out I chose it for two reasons, firstly because I assumed that it was written by a Dreamer, and secondly because for some reason I also assumed that it was written by a teenager. As soon as I realized that both my assumptions were incorrect it colored my view of the book completely and for that reason I was unable to appreciate it as much as I probably should have. I was so excited to think that a Dreamer was being published that my realization that this wasn’t true was a real letdown. I think it’s essential that we let the people who have firsthand experience of being undocumented tell their stories, maybe because of personal experience, maybe because of the continuous bias that stands against those of us who were or are undocumented, or maybe just because so many of us remain in the shadows and have no voice it feels like a slight that someone else gets to tell the story. (Although I know it isn’t meant that way, but publishers please seek out firsthand stories from Dreamers too, there are so many of them).

If I take myself, my family, and our collective experiences out of the equation and look at Sanctuary Somewhere more objectively I completely understand why the author wrote it. It’s written in such a way (long form freestyle poetry) that it’s easy to read and digest, and it’s deceptively simple. The wording feels simple at first glance, but the emotion conveyed all through the book is very deep. That said you will most likely read through it in less than an hour.

Osmel lives with his mother and sister next door to his uncle and aunt and their kids, goes to school with his friends, and works with his family in an orchard. Osmel is undocumented, as is most of his family, and some of his friends. He only finds this out via one of his aunts when he is 17. He also witnesses an uptick in ICE arrests and deportations, and while he holds onto his dreams of being a meteorologist he struggles with the two lives he feels like he is living.

Brenna Dimmig conveys the fear, the reluctance to talk about one’s immigration status, even with those close to us, and the difficulties associated with being both an undocumented immigrant while only knowing the US as home very well. This book is a great tool for teaching school children about Dreamers in general and for also teaching empathy. However I do feel that it only scratches the surface, and a lot is also missing (mainly the reason why some people are not eligible to apply for DACA, why there are more deportations now, the sacrifices that immigrant families make not only to come here but also to stay here, and the continuous rot of white supremacy that directs this country, the effect of the current administration on the immigration population, the stereotypes, and also the fact that not all Dreamers are Mexican). I feel like Osmel’s story deserves deeper insight, maybe in the form of a novella.

So all in all, Sanctuary Somewhere does the job Brenna Dimmig set out to do, it is well written and full of emotion, but what is missing for me is the voice of someone who lived or is living this situation (the likes of Reyna Grande come to mind).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

If They Come For Us - Fatimah Asghar

I immediately jumped towards using the word “raw” when describing Fatimah Asghar’s poetry, but pulled myself back. Visceral yes, ripping the heart from your rib cage at times, and tying your stomach in knots at others, yes. But raw just isn’t the right word for me. They are too intricate… Spontaneous brilliance maybe? I’m probably going to bounce words back and forth over the next few days, asking myself if they are descriptive enough. And that’s fine, because these poems are going to stick around in my memory for a lot longer than that. Poetry that I have trouble describing is the best kind of poetry, because it’s the kind that drags you through the mud, teaches you to look through a new pair of eyes, and takes you to heights you would never really dare to go by yourself. If They Come For Us is one of those kind of poetry collections.

I had actually not heard of Fatimah Asghar before I read a summary of If They Come For Us and thought it sounded like something I would love. I absolutely do love it. I connected with Fatimah Asghar’s words from the first line, and that connection continued to the last poem. Poetry is truth, it is a deep mass that you have taken so long to conceal within, translated into words, images, and left open to interpretation. There is pain, anger, and fear, but also beauty, tenderness, and hope.

Some of these poems are also going to make you uncomfortable, especially if you are white. Uncomfortable in an important, you need to listen and do a ton better kind of way, which is another reason why I totally recommend this collection. Microaggression Bingo is a great example of what I’m trying to convey: a poem in an original format, simple, with a highly effective message. We have ALL committed at least one of these microagrressions in our lives. The poems that explore the lasting effects of the Partition of India and Pakistan made me realize how much I have neglected South Asia in my more recent readings, and how I need to learn more, read more. And then the poems on growing up, being an immigrant, losing parents, struggling with body, with changes, with being different... They are so real, so powerful, many so very relatable to me. Reading If They Come For Us sometimes felt like I was given a small fuzzy window into someone’s soul for a second, and then was yanked back into myself, wondering what had just happened.

I have totally fallen in love with Fatimah Asghar’s work, and will be buying myself a hard copy of this to read again, and probably again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this wonderful collection of poems!!

Be Brave by J. M. Farkas

Have you ever read Beowulf? I have once I think, a long, long time ago. Obviously I read a modern day translation as it is the oldest Anglo-Saxon poem in existence. Anyway, as much as I love poetry, I don’t particularly remember Beowulf. But after reading Be Brave by J. M. Farkas I may have to go back and read it again. In any case I will definitely be rereading Be Brave, because it hit a nerve, in a good way.

Let me back up and provide a bit of background. J. M. Farkas, writer and teacher, took a black marker to the text of Beowulf, and created a brand new poem, one that talks of strength and resilience, and the power to not only be free, but to love and be loved in the way we deserve to be, without limitations.

This was my first foray into the world of “blackout” or “erasure” poetry, where one takes a classic text and blacks out content, thereby creating a new work of art. I’ve read that teachers often use this as a way to repurpose old books while igniting interest in the classics. I am now fascinated by how one would approach this task… Do you already know what you want your poem to say and how you want it to read? Or does it come to you organically as you read through the original text?

In any case, Be Brave is an ode to women, to our resilience, and also a song for the brokenhearted, a message for all that there is a light ahead, and that the heart will be mended in time. It is also an empowering message of self-care and empathy, one that all women should keep close to their hearts.

I loved the dedication at the end of the book: Be Brave is dedicated to the author’s grandmother (she is also on the front cover of the book). J. M. Farkas’ description of her grandmother provides us with an image of a strong and remarkable person, one that reminds me very much of my own grandmother who passed away in 2012.

Be Brave will be published on April 3, 2018 through Andrews McMeel Publishing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

Literature/Poetry: Megan Falley

Poetry and I have a love/hate relationship. There will be days that I will only read poetry, and then I won't read any for months on end. Sometimes even years. I have written my own poetry from the darkest days of my early teenage years, and then of and on in splurts. All of these poems are hidden within journals and books, and sometimes I come across one that I had forgotten I had written, standing out on a page, in my scrawling handwriting. I stare at it with surprise, and then with recognition. Ah yes. You. I remember you.

I've been inspired lately. Not only to compile some of my own poems (more about that another time), but to write poetry again, and especially, to read it. Around the time that all this started again I picked up Megan Falley's After the Witch Hunt at the book store I work at, after one of my colleagues had recommended it to me. I started reading it on the train home, and nearly missed my connection stop. You know that feeling of being punched in the stomach and completely elated at the same time? The feeling of all of your senses buzzing against and with each other, vertigo and stability at once? Yes, that. You can open the book on any page and will probably need to hold your breath while you live through the poem. Live, laugh, cry and breathe against until you start on the next one. Each poem inserts itself into your brain and your heart, melds with your own experiences and life and tells you how it is. Out loud, raw, beautiful, personal but universal all at once. A voice that could be anyone's, but has the talent to create lines of words that are so intensely woven together that it is difficult to pull yourself away and forget what you have just read. I know I sometimes overuse the hyperbole, but, honestly, I am not exaggerating here. Megan Falley is just brilliant. And so inspiring.

I want to post lines from all of the poems in here, but for that you can just head over to Megan's website and/or buy her book. I'll just post some lines from Rain, the ones that I felt touched me the most today.

Give me that stupid, reliable cloud

because it might be the only thing

that never leaves

Because being only happy

is like having just one crayon - 

even if it's the prettiest crayon,

it sure gets boring.

Give me that cloud.

Give me this ache that lets me know

I'm alive.

Megan Falley's website

After the Witch Hunt

Art & Poetry: Gabriel Dante Rossetti

I just spent an hour looking through 5 bookcases and hundreds of books looking for for my old collection of Rossetti's poems, a copy that I had taken from my parents collection of old and rare books years ago, but to no avail. It must be somewhere, but I absolutely hate when this happens! I was looking for one poem that referred to the moon, but I couldn't remember the exact title... In any case it must be around somewhere, and I will find it when I decide to take all of the books out, dust them and fit them back in the bookcases again, like a jigsaw puzzle. It got me thinking about how Rossetti has always been my favourite artist, because even though I love his poetry, I love his paintings even more. One of the main founders of the Pre-Raphaelite movement in the 19th century, many of his paintings depict beautiful portraits of women, with medieval and Italian Renaissance influences. The attention to detail n all his work is tremendous, and if you look closely at the faces of the women you can see that they all resemble each other, even if the hair colour or dress is different. I suppose this is because his artwork was intrinsically close to his real life relationships with his models and muses and he tended to reproduce their faces in his different paintings.

I used to have a whole collection of postcard reproductions of his work all over my bedroom walls years ago (amidst the Nirvana, Cure and Bauhaus posters), but I've lost most of them during my many moves. During my brief stay in London 7 years ago I got to see a good collection of his work at the Tate Britain (for free - only the temporary exhibitions have a fee to view) which was great. In an alternate universe where I was a millionaire and collected art, Rossettis would be what I would want to cover my house in. Or at least, own one of. Beauty, sadness, depth and other-worldy...

When I write I don't see words in my minds, but images, and I try to convey those images in words. When I take photographs I always think of words, strings of sentences, that go with the photo and convey the feelings and emotions that go through me when I capture exactly the image that I see in my mind. I think that's what I love the most about Rossetti - each piece of artwork is closely intertwined with a poem or a piece of writing. It's as if one cannot go without the other, which in my mind is an utterly true statement.

I've been feeling very whimsical all week... Maybe it's the weather...

Here is the poem I was looking for earlier:

A Match With The Moon

WEARY already, weary miles to-night

I walked for bed: and so, to get some ease,

I dogged the flying moon with similes.

And like a wisp she doubled on my sight

In ponds; and caught in tree-tops like a kite;

And in a globe of film all liquorish

Swam full-faced like a silly silver fish;—

Last like a bubble shot the welkin's height

Where my road turned, and got behind me, and sent

My wizened shadow craning round at me,

And jeered, “So, step the measure,—one two three!”

And if I faced on her, looked innocent.

But just at parting, halfway down a dell,

She kissed me for good-night. So you'll not tell.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Tate Britain:

Website Here

Online Rossetti Archive:

HERE

Literature: William Shakespeare, Sonnet XXIII

Just because Shakespeare wasn't only a playwright, and because I find this one particularly moving and truthful.

Sonnet XXIII

As an unperfect actor on the stage,

Who with his fear is put beside his part,

Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,

Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;

So I, for fear of trust, forget to say

The perfect ceremony of love's rite,

And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,

O'ercharged with burthen of mine own love's might.

O! let my looks be then the eloquence

And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,

Who plead for love, and look for recompense,

More than that tongue that more hath more express'd.

O! learn to read what silent love hath writ:

To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.

Go HERE to find all of the sonnets, as well as some explanations and commentaries (although I always find it easier to trust my own interpretation to be honest).

Poetry: Lord Byron - She Walks In Beauty

She Walks In Beauty

- Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that 's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellow'd to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o'er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all

A heart whose love is innocent!

This is still one of my favourite poems ever written. Unlike most of Byron's work it is actually short and quite simple in tone and wording, but I think this was the exact effect that was intended. It's said that Byron wrote this after meeting his cousin's wife, and being inspired by her beauty wrote this poem. Other sources say that it was written about Augusta, his half sister (like many of his poems), and yet other sources say it alludes to the beauty of Art in general. After spending so many years studying 19th and 20th century literature and pulling apart poems until you could find any meaning to them that would make sense if backed up with the right arguments, I just like to read poetry and let the words give me the meaning they want to give me.

This poem was published as part of the volume of poems called

Hebrew Melodies

in 1815, and each poem was set to music. When read out loud you can almost hear the melody that goes with it (or maybe that's just me). In any case, whenever I feel agitated or upset I read this poem and immediately feel calmer. Serene beauty, inspiration, music and the calm sound of the ocean (the ocean is not mentioned but serenity and the ocean go hand in hand for me, and if you want to know why you should just ask me).

Here's a lovely recording of Eric Portman reading She Walks In Beauty:

I still have a teenage crush on Byron... What girl doesn't?!