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Sisters’ Entrance
Warnings: Violence, Racism, Islamophobia, Trauma My Thoughts I’ve struggled to gather my thoughts on this collection, I was just so blown away and overwhelmed by the emotions elicited by this book. The poetry collected here comes from a very personal place for the author, who is a Sudanese refugee that survived the war and genocide in Darfur. Some poems were heavy and spoke of her traumatic experiences such as in People Like Us and The Bride. Others, like Why I Haven’t Told You Yet, were more light-hearted but still carry a strong message. All of these poems pulled together shape the author, her family, her experiences, and her outlook on…
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Worlds of You
My Thoughts Worlds of You is perhaps one of the most romantic collections I’ve read in quite some time. Everything about this book oozes romance and feels very personal as the author reflects on his life and experiences with love. I had to admire Taplin that not only is he self-aware but he has a good head on his shoulders and knows exactly what he wants out of both life and love. The first 75% of the book is dedicated entirely to passages and poems about romance, heartbreak, desire, and moving on. The last quarter of the book centered on the author’s own reflections about himself and how important it…
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If They Come for Us
My Thoughts My goodness, what an astounding collection of poetry! I was absolutely dazzled by this debut collection and I’m honestly ashamed that I was granted a review copy and did not get to read it sooner. Asghar speaks to a generation of Asian American women with a great deal of understanding and empathy. There were several times where a poem hit close to home, particularly in the sections about needing to cover up one’s race and religion, or of the shame that comes with losing one’s native language. “You speak a language until you don’t. Until you only recognize it between your auntie’s lips. Your father was fluent in…
