Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems Paperback – March 1, 2022

I must first say that Warsan’s Shire identity as a young Kenyan-born Somali woman who was raised in London and now lives in the U.S. has an influence on the flow of this book, and this is something that I appreciated. She touches on themes of being a refugee, becoming displaced, and how war affects people—these are topics that I have never encountered in my life, and while they are abstract and unknown, her words make them tangible and transport me to her world. Moreover, this is bolstered by the fact she includes more universal themes such as identity, love, death, and womanhood.In relation to themes in my class on African Literature, Shire’s storytelling through poetry shows the intricacy and diversity of African stories. She also highlights the complicated relationship between fleeing your home country and arriving in a new world—which is also covered in the novels Homegoing and Nervous Conditions, where that new world is white education—that demands you assimilate when she writes “I am the sin of memory and the absence of memory” to illustrate the shame yet longing she has surrounding her Somali roots (Shire 2022, 25). Her poem titled Assimilation further discusses this demand for immigrants to reject their home culture when she writes that immigrants will “die within the first six months in a host country” if they do not (Shire 2022, 21). The overall theme of immigration is one of the strongest in this collection of poems, specifically as she frames it with the loss of culture, religion, and language. While these have been discussed in past readings, Shire truly shows how the experiences of refugees manifest in their bodies. Specifically, her poem titled Bless Your Ugly Daughter discusses this from a mother’s point-of-view, describing the mother’s child with the stanza “your daughter’s face is a small riot, her hands are a civil war, she has a refugee camp tucked behind each ear, her body is a body littered with ugly things” (Shire 2022, 33). This stanza is undeniably powerful. The innocence of a young girl is shown to be tainted with the experiences of civil war, and Shire even goes so far as to say these experiences are ugly things that obscure her soft girliness; the complexity between immigration, femininity, and family relationships is explored within this singular stanza.Womanhood is continuously described throughout Shire’s poems. She often focuses on the relationship between mother and daughter while adding to the complexity of immigration and assimilation. In Filial Cannibalism, she discusses how mothers feed on the “shame” their daughters are forced to secrete from spaces made for men—shame that comes from sexuality, gender, and norms from a new culture (Shire 2022, 32). And in Hooyo Full of Grace, she discusses how girlhood and experiencing immigration translate to an “incubation of madness” which she also ties into motherhood and having to raise yourself in a new country as your mother does not know the norms either (Shire 2022, 47). She explicitly describes this when she writes from a mother’s perspective, elucidating the disconnect between mother and daughter when that daughter is experiencing womanhood and growing up in a completely different language, passport, and identity. Yet in her poem The Abubakr Girls are Different, she paints the scene of a dialogue between two girls who are friends discussing getting their period, showing the universality of womanhood in some regards with gender norms and the rush of sharing gossip (Shire 2022, 59). To further this complexity of womanhood, Shire covers it and immigration also from religious viewpoints. Many of her pieces have the word “bless” or “blessing” in them, and when describing the longing for a love that embraces her cultural background, she mentions how she prays over halal meat (Shire 2022, 39). She includes many words that come from Islam, and she also includes many references to her native tongue. As she navigates embracing her religion and her language, she talks about her “dreams lost in translation” and how she prays in a language she hasn’t “used in years” (Shire 2022, 33; Shire 2022, 39). This prompts a connection to the ever-evolving debate on whether or not to use English in African literature; Shire herself struggles with reconnecting to her mother tongue, yet she also conveys this through the use of English.Each poem is an individual piece of a larger story, which reminds me of the novel Homegoing in the sense that each page adds to a larger story. Much like Homegoing, the trauma Shire has endured is evident, but there is also hope and a willingness to persevere that permeates the pages—and this intricacy is one of the reasons that I highly recommend this book. The language Shire chooses, the personification of love and immigration, and the blunt honesty in discussing her experiences are unlike any other poetry book I’ve read. Her lyrical writing is also strikingly painful with the line “while you wash your body you realize it is not your body… and at the same time, it is the only body you have” to describe sexual abuse during war and the line “stitching my body into the body of Homecoming queen” to illustrate the overwhelming desire to be white like other girls (Shire 2022, 57; Shire 2022, 64). This lyricism, the themes covered, and the overall weaving of a story is absolutely enthralling and makes this book a must-read. It connects us all through shared human experiences, yet it is distinctly her story.

I have long loved Warsan Shire's poetry and when I learned a new book was coming out, I preordered it.And I waited, and I waited. And I waited some more.On the day it finally arrived, I brought the envelope into my little office where I read and work and do my own writing and I opened it immediately. I dropped the envelope on my desk and opened the book, first feeling it in my hands, like an old friend I hadn't seen in years.And then I started reading each poem, slowly, and deliberately, until I closed the book after the last poem titled Nail Technician as Palm Reader.It was only then, after however much time had passed, probably a good half hour–possibly more–that I realized I was still standing. I was so engrossed in the writing that I didn't even think to move or sit. I just read and read.I love so many poems in this collection but one I particularly love is Bless Grace Jones, so I'm sharing a snippet below:Holy Mother of those deemed intimidating,patron saint of the unapproachable,savoir of those told to soften their expression.A fabulous poem, this also serves as a teaser of the entire book. Uncomfortable, real, perfect depictions of life in all its ugly forms.I feel like Shire's poetry should be taught not only as poetry but also as political commentary because it touches on so many universal truths faced by far too many people around the world who don't have the luxury of abundance.If you don't already know Warsan Shire's poetry, get on it!

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head tackles various issues in womanhood ranging from pop culture, religion, and familial relationships, to immigration, sexual violence, etc. The poetry collection is written by award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire, who is also known for her collaborative efforts on Beyonce’s Lemonade and Black Is King, two artistic projects that also dive into Black womanhood and the intersectional experiences within Black womanhood. Shire’s poems center on a young girl experiencing and learning about womanhood without a proper guide to lead her in this coming-of-age experience. A part of the Somali diaspora, Warsan Shire speaks both Somali and English, and in an effort to be truly authentic in her writing, her poems intertwine the two languages without censoring or limiting herself to simply writing in English or interrupting her poems to explain Somali words, phrases, and slang. I admire Shire’s authenticity and how she avoided focusing on a Western audience. Her ability to write poetry that uniquely ascribes to her experiences is what makes this collection resonate with so many. A part of the Sudanese diaspora myself, I found her culturally accurate portrayal both raw and at times relatable- especially when she incorporated religious imagery and phrases in Arabic. To accommodate non-Somali speakers, Shire includes a glossary of all the Somali and (religious) Arabic terms she uses. The glossary is placed at the end of the book and is not mentioned at the start but I do think it would be a lot more helpful at the beginning of the book.African literature written in the English Language is often criticized and debated for being written in English and prioritizing English-reading audiences when they are meant to center African experiences. Regarding Warsan Shire’s work and this debate on language, I find her Somali and English (but mainly English) poems appropriate. Many people of the Somali diaspora, because of the war, are born outside of Somalia and Somaliland, meaning they mainly speak English and maybe a little Somali. This makes Shire’s poems, in which she draws from her experiences and the experiences of those in her community, accurate in that they are written using an English and Somali language and cultural mix.After reading Shire’s famous poem Home, I was eager to delve into her full-length poetry collection. Although I must admit I was left a little underwhelmed after finishing this collection. This is likely because some of her poems in this collection are vaguer and therefore have less of a striking impact on a first read. After re-reading and a careful analysis of some poems, I’m able to grapple with the weight of her words more. Nonetheless, Shire’s ability to fluidly and concisely write poems on sorrowful and desperate situations continues with this collection.“Memories reach out of wallsDragging her by the hair. Baaticaught on door handles, pullingHer through time. At night her silk scarfSlips around her neck like a noose.”In this section from “Absolutely Fabulous”, Shire incorporates cultural references to the commonly worn Somali “baati”, a loose-fitting dress worn at home by women and girls. One can also see here her powerful ability to paint a graphic scene with words. Her use of personification often alludes to experiences of violence and abuse, and without explicitly describing these scenes, she accurately describes the feelings associated with the trauma.Overall, I recommend people read Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head and explore Warsan Shire’s other works too. This is a heartbreaking collection of poems that deal with womanhood, identity, death, suffering, resilience, displacement, love, and war. Warsan Shire’s poetry can leave one reminiscing on the relatable cultural and religious references or bring foreigners into a new culture through beautifully written poetry that tackles various painful real-life topics and issues.

Shire's work should be read by everyone. Her work is so beautiful and profound, and feels so important. I'm so glad I stumbled upon her.