This was a great poetry book. I always absolutely enjoy her work and I can't wait to read more in the near future. I highly recommend it.

darling, wherever you find yourself you are foreign.

2.5 stars

There were some really good lines in this collection but I would consider this book a collection of lines rather than poems. I also felt there were too many themes being touched upon and not enough space given to any of them for them to be fully fleshed out + the constant back and forth between the themes didn't help. I would probably read Chisala's work again because her writing wasn't bland and emulates Black pride and magic beautifully but I wish this was edited and marketed in a better way.

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

soft magic. is the debut collection of prose and poetry by Malawian writer, Upile Chisala. This book explores the self, joy, blackness, gender, matters of the heart, the experience of Diaspora, spirituality and most of all, how we survive. soft magic. is a shared healing journey.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I’ve been reading a lot of poetry this year, this one felt stronger than some of the others, it was proud and striking and very self-affirming. I also feel like it wasn’t exactly meant for me. I think it’s so important having own-voice diverse authors targeting their community, but in a way I almost felt like I was intruding.

Firstly, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this poetry collection.

I thought this collection was alright. I'm not the biggest fan of poetry and this was helping me try to figure out what kind of poetry is more my style. Would I read a collection by this author again? Certainly. The prose was good as was the topics.

I didn’t love soft magic as much as I expected I would. At times Upile Chisala’s wrote with such power and other times I felt like some of the poems just didn’t flow well.

A good collection, nothing amazing. I highlighted a few small points here and there but I wasn't wowed by anything nor can I remember any poem that stuck out greatly to me.

This book is a collection of poems and, because of that, it’s quite hard to review.

When it comes to poetry collections, the first thing a lot of people ask is “do the poems rhyme?”, which saddens me, poetry isn’t just that.

But the poems in this book do not rhyme, at least not in the usual way. Some rhyme in the middle of the verse, other rhyme in terms of theme, others in terms of images they evoke.

A lot of poems in this book also call forth big problems in our~society and they’re written in a beautiful way – so beautiful that you feel what the author felt.

And there are poems about many things. Poems about black power, about feminism, about abuse, about love. And I couldn’t find one I didn’t enjoy.

I loved this book, and I can’t wait to see what this author writes in the future.

Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced ARC of this book.

Soft Magic is a very short read, but oh so powerful. It's about blackness, womanhood, mothers, daughters, relationships, surviving, and depression. Most of all, it's about healing. Each poem packs such a punch, even when it's just one line. I think this is because Upile Chisala is saying things that come from the heart (and experience), but have gone through much thought first. Much of what she said resonated very deeply with me. This is such a beautiful debut poetry collection, I'm blown away!

A poetry book with a nice pace and a consistent theme. The writing is smooth and simple yet thought-provoking all the same. It's a good read for when you want something lighter.

One of my Favorite poetry reads this year

Since Feb is the black history month, and I read it at a perfect time. The poems are all about Black people, love and courage

"Tell her there are goddesses in her bones
And tales of triumph in her skin.
And that blackness is not a sin."

This book is a magic. I love it ....

Soft Magic is filled with feelings and is a good book to read when one needs a self-reflection and empowerment. Although mainly written for black girls, I think it can be read for women everywhere, particularly WOC.

4/5

<i>(I received a digital ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)</i>

I don't read a lot of poetry, but I loved this collection. The poems are short and sweet, empowering and utterly quotable. If you are battling with depression, confidence, self-love, or even just bad love this book has a bit of advice in the shape of a short poem for you. You could probably even take it and turn it into a daily mantra to empower yourself. I'm going to read it again and savor it.

My favorite:

I write you poems because God spoke the universe
into existence,
so don't even let me hear you say that words are
just words,
that words don't leave a mark,
make a change,
create where once was nothing.

I love here and then pieces it was worthwhile reading. However, the other felt unfinished. I was expecting a more and more intensifying take on these matters. But was cut short for well it is short. Would love to read more!

I love how unapologetically black the verses are in here. I love how empowering it is to other minorities too. It is inspirational. It was raw, deals with race, gender, self-love, acceptance, and the majority is based on the creator’s personal voice. The voice of pieces of advice that could reach others. And take it to heart and action.

A lovely collection of poem that talks about feminism, women, love and life. It is empowering and I truly enjoy it. This collection is a modern poetry collection in a style that is very popular now, but I'd say that Soft Magic is pretty stand out because of the way she wrote the poems :) I recommend for you to pick it up.

Soft Magic captures diversity and racism from the perspective of the poet. Upile was born in Malawi, and is deeply rooted in her Africa heritage. As an African that now lives in America, Upile understands and experiences racism and racially motivated prejudices that accompany her being in the United States. Similarly, Upile's work focuses not just on her culture, but on her experience as a woman, and the emotions she experiences throughout her life.

Her poetry read melodically, and flowed nicely, giving a relaxation to the reader, while also challenging the reader to think about Upile's experiences. I enjoyed this book and think it's a great opportunity for those of diverse backgrounds to begin to understand Upile's experience.

This is a beautiful collection of poetry. I really related to and was touched by these beautiful poems. Highly recommended.

There were a lot of repeated images in here, and no images that I found particularly ingenious. When I analyse the poetic technique in this collection, I am disappointed, and poetic technique is something that I require to consider something good poetry. There were a fair few cliches and not too many new inventive ways of saying the same things I have read and heard a hundred times—I found this particularly in the section about love.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc copy.
I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars.
I really enjoyed this I didn’t connect emotionally to the poems though and that’s why it didn’t get five stars. I love that this is about black women loving themselves, self love is important. I do recommend this, just because I didn’t connect with it doesn’t mean you won’t.

Very interesting title. I downloaded the book as the title and author seemed interesting and worthy of reading time but unfortunately couldn't read the book as it was a protected file.

This is my favorite poetry I've read so far in 2019. My favorite part of these poems is the power that they tell and show us about. From women to skin color this book covers it all without putting anyone down. This is the first book I've read by Upile Chisala and I can't wait to read more because I enjoyed the way these words made me feel, made me think, you know that it's good writing when that happens. Like many poetry books I wrote down many lines and even a full poem here are there. One of my favorite lines is "I hope to do with words what dancers do with limbs." and I just love that line. There is something about that. how worlds and limbs are the same while turning them both into something to entertain people, just inspires me.

With that said, words have powers and Upile Chisala uses them in a positive light, that's a powerful thing.