Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth (mouthmark series Book 10) Kindle Edition

First heard of the author from an article referencing beyonce's Lemonade and how Shire contributed to the literary component of the narration. This collection of hers is fire. I felt every phrase in the depths of my own understanding of the pains that she described. Finished the collection in one night and reread pieces for days after. It helps to put words to feelings you've always known to be true, but were never quite validated by society's fear of acknowledging all that is hurtful and unjust in the world and how that trauma is passed down by generation.

Exceptionally provocative writing- Warsan Shire's poetry lends itself as a patch worked maze of emotions cohesively painting a movie of depression, acceptance, strength, and self awareness that extends to the reader in ways that will leave you challenged to redefine your own reality. Although a very brief read, my suggestion is to read several of the poems, and let them permeate throughout your day before continuing.While I learned of her voice through "Lemonade", I'd suggest that Beyonce could not have included a better creator than Shire to include and give true depth of connection to her video.

The title is tantalizing and you open the pages because you want to discover what she means. And what you find is Warsan is unafraid. At least in the way that when you begin to delve in to the words of her poetry, you start to see her nakedness, vulnerability. She seems unafraid to be plain, unafraid to be esoteric, unafraid to relate.It may be obvious that some of the pieces do not seem to have been churned and refined over time; but each piece seems to form a chain to create this formidable tapestry.Because of its apparent sincerity in the writer’s intention to share her thoughts, Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth may well be a book of instruction. On self scrutiny and unconditional self acceptance.

To understand yourself and where you are, you must first start at the beginning. This artist can take a situation and make it every woman's story. If you are looking for a good read, read this. It could help you understand yourself or possibly someone else.

I've loved this book since I first picked it up in 2018 on the day of my graduation. I felt every word and some of the poetry made me cry, specifically "Ugly" as well as the intro to the book " I have my mother mouth and my father's eyes, on face they're still together." I love her poetry so much I ordered this copy for my little sister.

I owned the physical book, and later decided to get the audiobook as well.She narrates the audiobook, and I needed to hear her voice.I’ve been telling people about Warsan Shire for sometime, her writing is devastating and beautiful at the same time.I can’t get enough.

The content is incredible and I am a huge fan. However, the cover and binding of this book could use a bit of work. I can understand that it was probably a low budget production, though. I wish it reflected how brilliant her content is.

Beautiful, vivid imagery through poignant words, perfectly placed, line after line. Don't read when sad, though. These are not light fluffy poems; these are searing needles of truth on weathered skin.

Warsan Shire is one of those contemporary poets whose work I’m familiar with, but have never actually bought any of her work. I feel like it might be the same for a lot of people, because I can’t imagine anyone who has spent any length of time on the internet hasn’t ever read at least a few lines of “For Women Who Are Difficult To Love”. It seems like parts of it are featured as some facebook status every other week, like it pops up on twitter every so often, and is featured on basically every pinterest board I follow; sometimes credited, though often not.Within the poetry community, of course, she is known. Perhaps not to the extent of other contemporary masters such as Nikita Gill or Rupi Kaur, but enough that I’ve been forcibly told I should hurry up and read her work, already.Read it I did, and now I can see why so many people admire her so much. All of her work is punchy, crisp, and while not always “relatable”, written in such a manner that you can feel the tragedy and heartbreak as though it were. That’s a hard thing to do, especially in the medium of a poem. The kind of poetry I enjoy most to read is clever and concise –oh, I like Burns and Byron well enough, but it’s flowery and a little frivolous, and it’s lovely, really, but just not my cup of soup.Warsen Shire’s “Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth” is very much women’s poetry, and while I’m sure there are plenty of men who do and would enjoy it, I feel like the subject matter might not strike them in quite the same way. There were several points where I felt my eyes swimming a little, particularly “Your Mother’s First Kiss” and “The Kitchen”, but the one that hit me hardest was the very last one, “In Love and In War”.It’s a very short collection, but that by no means diminishes its contents. In actual fact, I’d almost say its brevity lends itself to the overall tone and style of the book.As I said previously: Clever and concise. Full marks, and can't wait to read more from her.

This is my first time reading the poet and won’t be my last.I found the poems in this very short collection intense, emotional and very moving. One poem in particular is almost heart-breaking:To my daughter I will saywhen the men come, set yourself on fireWho can fail to be touch by something so raw? The poems deal with the repercussions of displacement, war and terror, especially how these things affect women. The poems express the idea of female empowerment, of standing up for yourself and using all of your strength. Some of the poems are so raw I found them hard to read.Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth is a powerful collection of poem, words that need to be said in today’s world.

Oh my you are in for a real treat when you read this. Fans of short poems will adore this book, it's not written like Leav or Faudet which is quite Twilight style, this is the real deal. Raw, in your face and powerful, Shire just smacks all these poems around your face and leaves you thinking - what on earth was I reading before? It is a very slim book but in this instance it is quality and not quantity. I read it over a cup of tea and when I finished it, I knew this is a book that I will returning back to. A must buy!

This small poetry book came into my collection because I had seen quotes from Warson Shire, And a couple of poems. A friend and I use a poem of hers that means a lot to us to say what we need to when we want to communicate to each other.This book contains lines of aching truth, and as should be, some lines that do not ( yet ) speak to me but tell me of the Poet and experience of others.I am grateful for it. It is beautiful.

Extraordinary. Food for the soul, food for thought and a subtle reminder that the finest things really do come in small packages. This is a quick read but a must-read. We also gave this collection as a gift to our son's English teacher who has seen him through his GCSE studies over the past couple of years.