Cicely Belle Blain

I loved this collection. Somewhere in between a collection of individual poems and a memoir in verse -- this book as a whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

Divided into three sections, these are snippets of a Black, queer, femme finding/making her place in the world. Place takes us through cities/states/regions of the poet's life, what she found/learned/lost in each place, with a chaotic mix of joy, pain, humor, and introspection. In Art she recounts growing up with an artist for a mother, trawling galleries in Europe on weekends. The poems address artists and specific works, they address white supremacy in the art world and how it affects how Black art is displayed, received, consumed. Finally Child moves back and forth in time, navigating family and identity, the wounds of absence, of racism, sexism, and homophobia. But Blain is bold in reclaiming trust and love and self-worth.

Raw and powerful.… (mere)