Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire

Somehow Shire manages to adeptly explore a highly political topic through the art of poetry. The topic of migration continues to be a central issue in the UK and Europe since the beginning of the migration crisis. One of the poems that I found most inspiring was, Shire’s three-part prose poem entitled, “Conversations from Home (at the deportation center)”.

And in “Your mother’s first kiss” which has the opening line, “The first boy to kiss your mother later raped women”.

Like in, “Birds” which opens with the line, “Sofia used pigeon blood on her wedding day” (14) referring to a woman who uses pigeon blood to hide the fact that she has already lost her virginity. Under the tongue, collarbone, bottom lip,Īnd then, sometimes her poetry is colloquial, brutal, refusing to shy away from abusive sexual experiences and the harsh realities women face every day. “Your grandfather’s hands were slow but urgent.Ī clockwork of fingers finding places to own. Her poetry ranges from softer, sensual images, such as in, “Grandmother’s Hands”: At the same time Shire clearly has her own style and voice. The Lorde influence is clear, as many of the poems delve deeply into the experiences one has with their mother and the cultural tensions that come with being black in the Western world. She was a radical feminist and civil rights activist whose poetry and essays I cannot recommend enough.

Lorde is more than an apt figure for Shire to gesture too, as Lorde is something of an expert on writing about identity, race and feminism. Teaching my mother how to give birth explores the relationship between a daughter and her mother as well as touching on themes of identity, race, religion and migration. The quote, “Mother, loosen my tongue or adorn me with a lighter burden” comes from Lorde’s poem, “Call” and it is a perfect opening to Shire’s collection. The quote is by one of my favourite poet’s, Audre Lorde. I soon ordered Teaching my mother how to give birth and her poetry pamphlet did not disappoint.įrom reading the quote on the first page of the collection I was already hooked. As I’m sure many others have been, I was intrigued to find out more about the strong voice behind the poetic interludes in Beyoncé’s album. I came across the name Warsan Shire through Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade.

Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire