Overview

Performance poet Sophia Thakur offers a powerful new collection touching on intergenerational relationships, finding your voice, and what it means to be a woman. In her heartfelt second poetry collection, Sophia Thakur takes us on an emotionally charged journey through the lives of women in the past and considers what it means to be a woman today. Exploring topics such as identity, race, politics, mental health, and self-love, she weaves together the voices of a grandmother, mother, and daughter and examines how previous generations have given us the freedom to speak out. Encompassing love from first crush to breakup, as well as the history that comes before us and the brave moments that make us, this collection will resonate with all young women as they approach the joys and pain of adulthood.

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9781536230161

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Reviews

A sense of being rooted, as well of searching, clearly comes through in this collection, as the author weaves together themes of love, belonging, race, and identity. . . . The evocative and poignant poetry explores the power a mother holds; art, censorship, and exploitation; and God, romance, love, and more. Memory, family, hope, and grief hold the poems together while they strongly excavate sociopolitical themes. Reading them is unsettling—and powerfully beautiful. A masterful, immersive read. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Drawing on her Gambian and South Asian heritage, British performance poet Thakur pays tribute to the women in her life in her second poetry collection. . . At the center of the book. . . is the power of self-love and freedom of expression, topics that will especially resonate with young female readers. The format allows them to dip in and out as they wish and savor such stanzas as “A woman has always been / what it means to live,” which sums up Thakur’s touching look at modern women. —Booklist In poems that span cultures, generations, and locations—and are often written from the perspectives of her Gambian and Southeast Asian relatives—Thakur offers brief yet thoughtful meditations on her ancestors’ histories. . . . Through powerful polyphonic narration, Thakur presents profound exclamations of affection for the ever-deepening nature of mother-daughter relationships, while simultaneously grappling with how violence, imposed assimilation, and exclusion affect Black youth. —Publishers Weekly Spoken-word poet and London native Thakur speaks in living memory of tradition, family, and friendship, drawing from reflections on perseverance and resilience. . . . Many of the poems use the imagery of mirrors and reflections to describe ancestral lineage and the art of seeing through the eyes of one’s predecessors. Though not presented as strictly linear, later poems focus on mature love and evoke darker imagery, but the closing works reveal an opening to self-love, empathy, and thankfulness. —School Library Journal

A sense of being rooted, as well of searching, clearly comes through in this collection, as the author weaves together themes of love, belonging, race, and identity. . . . The evocative and poignant poetry explores the power a mother holds; art, censorship, and exploitation; and God, romance, love, and more. Memory, family, hope, and grief hold the poems together while they strongly excavate sociopolitical themes. Reading them is unsettling—and powerfully beautiful. A masterful, immersive read. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Author Information

Sophia Thakur won her first poetry award at eighteen and since then has performed at Glastonbury Festival, the Stylist Remarkable Women Awards, and international conferences, and has given two TED Talks. She is a youth ambassador for the betterment of young Black girls and has worked with such charities as Cancer Research UK, as well as such brands as MTV, Samsung, and Nike. In 2019, she published her first collection of poems, Somebody Give This Heart a Pen, to critical acclaim. She lives in London.

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