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Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head

Shortlisted for the 2022 Felix Dennis Prize
By Warsan Shire
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire is a poignant poetry collection that explores themes of identity, displacement, and the immigrant experience. Navigating personal and collective histories, Shire delves into the complexities of navigating life as a diasporic woman, often weaving in lyrical reflections on family, home, and resilience. Her powerful voice creates a tapestry of emotions, offering a touching insight into the struggles and triumphs of finding one's place in the world.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This powerful collection of poetry may appeal to you if you have an interest in beautifully woven narratives exploring themes of identity, migration, and the female experience. Warsan Shire uses vivid imagery and emotional depth to delve into these themes, offering a resonant and moving journey through the intimate and universal.

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First published in the US by Random House in 2022.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The debut collection from award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire, celebrated collaborator on Beyoncé's Lemonade and Black Is King.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 FELIX DENNIS PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST COLLECTION
AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4

'Warsan Shire is an extraordinarily gifted poet whose profoundly moving poems so powerfully give voice to the unspoken.' — Bernardine Evaristo

'Vital, moving and courageous, this is a debut not to be missed.' — Guardian

Poems of migration, womanhood, trauma, and resilience from the award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire, celebrated collaborator on Beyoncé's Lemonade and Black Is King.

With her first full-length poetry collection, Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head, Warsan Shire introduces us to a girl who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, makes her own stumbling way toward womanhood. Drawing from her own life and the lives of loved ones, as well as pop culture and news headlines, Shire finds vivid, unique details in the experiences of refugees and immigrants, mothers and daughters, Black women and teenage girls. These are noisy lives, full of music and weeping and surahs. These are fragrant lives, full of blood and perfume and jasmine. These are polychrome lives, full of moonlight and turmeric and kohl.

The long-awaited collection from one of our most exciting contemporary poets is a blessing, an incantatory celebration of survival. Each reader will come away changed.

'Warsan Shire electrifies... The beautifully crafted poems in this collection are fiercely tender gifts.' — Roxane Gay

'Absolutely beautiful... So relevant.' — Elizabeth Day, Day's Delights

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Warsan Shire's Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head is praised for its exquisite and memorable poetry, capturing profound experiences with surprising depth. The collection is noted for its moving, vital, and courageous nature, skillfully transforming personal pasts. Many regard Shire as an extraordinarily gifted poet whose work is imbued with intelligence, imagination, and truth.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784743703

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 10 March 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Chatto & Windus

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 12.0mm

Width: 145.0mm

Height: 206.0mm

Weight: 193g

Pages: 96

Collections

Arts & Culture Cultural & Diverse Poetry Education & Reference Grief & Loss Non-Fiction Penguin Books Poetry Warsan Shire

About the Author

Warsan Shire is a Somali-British writer and poet born in Nairobi and raised in London. She has written two chapbooks, Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth and Her Blue Body. She was awarded the inaugural Brunel International African Poetry Prize and served as the first Young Poet Laureate of London. Shire wrote the poetry for the Peabody Award-winning visual album Lemonade and Disney film Black Is King in collaboration with Beyonce Knowles-Carter. She also wrote the short film Brave Girl Rising highlighting the voices and faces of Somali girls in Africa's largest refugee camp. Warsan lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head is her first full collection.

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