I couldn't get through this title. It ended up not being for me, but I hope it finds a hope with other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It’s been some time since I have truly gotten into a poetry collection, but when I go back to it I always find something incredibly calming and powerful about poetry. In Jasmine Mans’ collection Black Girl, Call Home, there isn’t a single word, line break, formatting choice, punctuation mark, or blank space that isn’t dripping with meaning.

This collection is a song for black women, from grief, heartache, trauma, love, motherhood, nostalgia, healing, strength, survival, and history. The poems aren’t meant for me, and I felt gratitude to be able to take them in and learn from the collection. I started reading this traditionally but after learning that Jasmine Mans had narrated the spoken word format for the audiobook, I purchased that version and it really added a different experience to her work.

In the written form, I enjoyed the way Mans used different formats to add a depth to each poem that felt unique to that experience. Hearing the poems in Mans’ voice was also incredibly powerful, because the strength and emotion comes through. I think there is a certain magic to spoken word poetry, hearing when the poet speeds up, slows down, gets louder or softer, and pauses. Sometimes the pauses after an emotional line carry the weight of the world in them.

There is an incredible amount of vulnerability in this collection, and it’s one that I’d recommend for a variety of readers. I think poetry can be intimidating but I didn’t find this collection to be at all. This is also a collection that I felt weaving back and then forwards again as I read more really brought different meaning to poems I’d already read. The poems are filled with references to pop culture and iconic or notable figures. Some I felt I probably even missed because Mans doesn’t always call them by name.

Every line carries with it a weight of thought and emotion. When addressing the choice to cast Halle Bailey as the Little Mermaid, Mans says:

“When they tell the Black girl she can’t play mermaid
ask them,
what their people know about holding their breath underwater”.

The poem titled “Missing Girls” is formatted as a crossword puzzle full of the names of missing girls. Particularly impactful are how many names you search for but never find. The poem itself felt to me like a comment both on many of the girls’ names being in plain sight but not seen, and also on all the names that aren’t included because so many forget or don’t pay attention.

Another poem titled “Serena” speaks to the inequity and objectification Serena Williams faced relative to other athletes in her field:

“The will place rules on your
body, say it’s a distraction from
their game,
as if they know better than you
how your bones should wear their own body”

I could go on and on, it’s hard to review a book of poetry because there are so many I want to speak on. There are a sequence of four poems that speak about Whitney Houston that are sobering. In the second, Mans talks about the iconic voice but many of the cries no one listened to. In the next, she talks about a woman who experienced two deaths but only one life. In the last one, Mans talks about the hologram of Whitney Houston that toured:

“A live band
accompanies a woman
who is not there,
like pallbearers.

Black body still
under contract.”

I can’t recommend this collection enough. Particularly for those who are used to studying 18th and 19th century poetry in school and found it hard to relate to, I think you’ll find this to be much more contemporary and powerful. The spoken word format in the audiobook is also a meaningful way to experience this collection, though I enjoyed the printed version as well.

Without a doubt one of the best poetry collections I have read. Jasmine Mans tackles both searingly difficult and very light topics but through every single word, this black girl felt seen. A magnificent collection.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Black Girl, Call Home is exceptional and is an ode to all Black girls. An insanely intense and beautiful book that I still cannot stop thinking about. A beautiful collection of poetry that is like a love letter to Black Girls everywhere. This book made me feel seen and nostalgic.

A beautiful work of art, I really enjoyed this book. It was inspiring and lovely and I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

This was such a beautiful collection! These poems are so beautiful and raw and honest and a stunning depiction of the queer Black experience. It beautifully captures the author's life growing up from a young queer Black girl into adulthood. I don't read a ton of poetry, but this one really blew me away.

Loved reading this book! It was so good. It had so many poems, with a variety of themes and messages. My favorite poem was the one about Kanye.

4.5 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

I loved this collection, it was my top pick in the poetry category (which other than romance was the only category that I had read a majority of the options). It was raw, emotional, funny at times and had shedding some tears. Lots of generational trauma, references to major events and black celebrities I recommend everyone reading this collection.

Jasmine Mans' work is gritty and lovely at the same time. In Black Girl, Call Home, she shows the reader what it means to be a queer black woman in today's society. Mans writes about identity, motherhood, God, community, innocence and the loss of it, rape culture, and everything else in between with so much power. It deserves all they hype it's getting.

First, I should mention that I love a good prosaic poem. A poem that tells a straightforward story in plain language, where something about writing in verse seems to open up some added honesty in the author. I see a lot of that here. The language is ordinary, but I think that's what makes it deceptively powerful.

What a stunning collection of poetry. Jasmine Mans is someone to look out for. Their prose and writing style are so breathtaking and poignant. I am so grateful I was able to read this collection early.

This poetry collection was life changing. It is so beautifully written and I could see myself in so many of the poems. It will stay with me for years to come.

You don’t realize how retable poetry really is. Not until, you sit down with a cozy blanket and start flipping through the pages that bring you down memory lane. Poetry makes me stop and reflect – on myself, the world, other perspectives, and even life.

Throughout these poems, you see a pattern. The love and wonder a girl has for her mother. The appreciation for her strength but curiosity of her vulnerability.

“I resent my mother for things she has sacrificed on my behalf.”

I appreciated the mix of pop culture and good wisdom. From Whitney Houston to the social media uproar of The Little Mermaid casting, I appreciated reading the author’s perspective and knowledge.

“If you go looking for dirt, you will eventually create it.”

How true is this...

“You can’t break a heart that already came in pieces.”

Throughout the book, I felt like Jasmine Mans shared all of her soul with the readers throughout the poems. That ability for a person to share without sharing, I find it fascinating. Thank you @poetjasminemans for sharing such a huge part of your soul with every reader. You made me stop and think about big issues in life and how we need to reflect.

Thank you @berkley for an ARC of this beautifully written compilation.

This book was so poignant and so much more than just peoms. They're heartbreaking and hopeful. I really.took my time reading through this one. It was a definite must add to the library collection where I work. ♡

This was a great read. I featured it as Book of the Day on all my social media platforms, and I’ll include it in my monthly roundup of news releases for my Black Fiction Addiction blog.

Gorgeous and raw. I took my time reading these - savoring each beautiful poem and lyrical writing. Heartfelt and beautiful. You should read these - drink them in and absorb their beauty and meaning. They’ll stick with me. Heartfelt thanks to Berkley Publishing for a copy of this magnificent book. I’m grateful.

I received a copy for an honest review. Great read. Powerful imagery, personal yet for many can speak to a common experience (motherhood, church, hair, relationships).

This was such a beautiful and powerful collection to read. I've been seeing this poetry book everywhere lately, but I definitely see what the hype's about! Jasmine Mans discusses a wide range of topics, which all are, albeit in different ways, very touching. Some of these topics are culture, queerness, religion, rape, family, and pop culture (I especially liked the poem about Kanye). I 100% recommend checking this one out if you're into poetry and you're looking for something relevant that will touch you deeply.

Thank you to PRH International and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc. This didn't affect the honesty of my review in any way.

this is a powerful collection. some poems hit my heart, some hit old wounds i thought had healed, some added questions to my already long questions about the meaning of life while others missed the mark completely and left me confused. this is definitely a collection i will return to over the years.