Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth

July 1, 2017

Shire (Her Blue Body) entered mainstream pop culture as the poetic voice behind Beyonce's video album Lemonade, but she had already garnered a following through her poetry chapbooks and her use of social media (which includes publishing poetry on Tumblr). Born in Kenya and raised in London, Shire was named that city's first Young Poet Laureate in 2014. Hearing Shire read her own work here, it is easy to see why she has gained such loyal and avid fans. The strength, lyricism, and devastating honesty of these poems are brought home much more clearly in the audio version than in the chapbook, and that is saying a great deal because when experienced on the page, the poems are incredibly moving. Through the author's reading, however, we are truly able to hear how stunning Shire's voice is. Poems such as "Your Mother's First Kiss" and "Trying To Swim with God" leave the listener stunned at their vibrancy and power. Shire's poetic ground is fertile and varied, examining such issues as class and race, the daily experience of women's lives, and the struggles of voiceless and disenfranchised members of society. She is a master of the "turn," building emotional resonance that leads to what amounts to a poetic coup de grace, an emotional gut punch that has a profound and lasting effect. VERDICT Highly recommended.--Wendy Galgan, St. Francis Coll., Brooklyn

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