If there is anything I love more than button poetry, it's mythology. This was a mixture of my entire personality. It was a fantastic read. I'm a "read in one sitting" kind of girl but I was torn between finishing it quickly b/c I couldn't put it down and wanting to wait to savor each poem on it's own. The stories used the folktales/mythology to add another layer of pain and depth into already heartbreaking concepts. I thought it was revolutionary. I regret not reading it any sooner. The only reason I can't give it a five is because it was not really what I was expecting. What I mean by that is I think the marketing really did it a disservice since I was a little thrown off with how different I thought the book was going to be. Otherwise, it was lovely.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was a great poetry collection, it inspired me to write a lot of annotations around this collection. I'd love to get my hands on a physical copy for this reason. I think the themes covered are quite varied and that's something you don't always get when you're reading a themed poetry collection. They often follow one line of thought, so it was a pleasant surprise.

"Urbanshee" by Siaara Freeman is a powerful and emotional poetry collection that delves deep into the themes of grief, healing, death, race, class, and sexuality. Freeman's writing is profoundly personal and bare, offering readers a glimpse into her raw and universal emotions.

The poems in this collection are poignant and tackle heavy life-changing situations, particularly the loss of a loved one. Freeman's ability to express these intense emotions through her words is truly a work of art. She infuses each poem with the weight of loss, vulnerability, and heartbreak, creating a moving and evocative reading experience.

Throughout the collection, Freeman weaves in elements of Black experiences and mythology. Her poetry is a blend of the personal and the shared experiences of Black individuals in America. While some specific details and emotions may feel intensely personal to the author, they are universally relatable in their portrayal of grief, struggle, and self-discovery.

The poems often have a slam poetry quality and are visually structured in interesting shapes and sizes, making them a pleasure to read. While some readers might miss direct mythological or fairytale connections, the overall impact of the collection is profound. The poems resonate with contemporary references and the author's unique perspective, adding depth and complexity to the themes explored.

"Urbanshee" is a compelling collection of poems that beautifully captures the pain, resilience, and strength of Black lives and their struggles. Freeman's honest and evocative writing style is a testament to the power of poetry to communicate deeply personal experiences while addressing broader societal issues. This book is a must-read for poetry lovers and those seeking a heartfelt exploration of Black experiences in America.

this poetry book was amazing!! these words made me cry, made me feel, made me suffer, made me laugh, made me cry! I absolutely loved this book!

This was a wonderful poetry collection. Freeman blends her life experiences with fairy tales, mythology, and straight up fantasy to create a stark and utterly real look into her life.

The collection is powerful. It's funny. It's raw. It's emotional. Even though her lens and life experiences are very different than mine, it's incredibly relatable. In the same breath, it's somewhat unnerving, somewhat uncomfortable, but that's a huge part of what makes it incredible.

There is something about a Black poet using fantasy or horror or myth deeply entwined in their poetry. Similar to "Can You Sign My Tentacle?" by Brandon O'Brien, it just clicks for me.

As a lover of fantastical stories and mythology, this was a treat. Poetry is a genre I've only recently started getting into, so I don't have enough experience to analyse it too deeply besides the certainty that I loved this read.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this collection and hope that I can learn more about their voice and perspective in the future.

thank you netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

urbanshee was a great collection of poetry. i’m not well versed in poetry but this really opened my eyes and heart to the genre

Description:
Urbanshee is Siaara Freeman’s retelling of fairy tales and mythological stories through a modern and urban lens. This collection discusses the weight of being Black in America, Freeman’s relationships to lovers and family, and how the physical place you grew up can become part of your identity. Urbanshee expertly combines humor, fantasy, and raw emotion to create this astonishing reinvention of classic fables. Freeman’s poems are ventrously unique and are sure to enchant anyone who reads them.

Powerful. Speculative. Black.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The poetry covers loss and death, grief, and what it means to be an urban black woman. The author made this book an exploration of her life.
The book states that it explores the different themes through the lens of mythology, however, I did not see that in the poems. Because I do not really like reading poetry, this was what drew me in, so it was disappointing that the book did not fulfill the overall theme.
If you are a fan of reading poetry, then you might want to consider this book, however, if you are looking for a strong influence from mythology it won't be for you.

Urbanshee by Siaara Freeman (5⭐️)

‘Urbanshee’ is a poem collection that discusses themes of family, blackness in amrica, and grief.

This is such a beautiful, raw and sad collection. I often struggle to read poetry but Freeman’s writing style really worked for me. Many of the poems are very honest, raw, and personal and it really makes you feel like you’re inside the author’s brain. I really appreciate the author sharing their personal experiences and struggles. This was such a thoughtful and beautifully put together collection. I’m excited to check out Freeman’s spoken word work.

My favourites were - ‘Fearless Sounds Like Fatherless On The Right Tongue’ and ‘It Is Hard To Tell Someone On Fire That You Are Drowning’. Some quotes I liked were:

“If you kiss her, you may wake up in a new religion.”
“I am a bakery with little sweet left in it.”
“Most days I am an alley that no one should enter alone.”
“Even when the flies came, I simply introduced myself to the rot.”
“What if there is more to me than a place you run to when you are cold inside?”
“it’s a thunderstorm somewhere with your heartbeat & everyone is afraid to hear it but you.”
“Someone made my jaw drop & I liked it enough to let them
do it again & again—until the ground beneath me wore hellish lipstick in my shade.”
“All I got is this fatherless fortune of bones. All I got is a chest, but the treasure is for the drowned.”
“sometimes no one even notices a person’s problems until they set themselves on fire”
“I bled my way back to myself, left crumbs of myself to remember where I came from.”
“Sacrifice is not a shattering of glass, it is blood on your hands for getting someone out alive.”
“My mother clouds when she don’t want nobody to see her pain, which is how
I inherited my blur.”
“my heart is a Band­Aid for other hearts that have been bloodied by other hearts & once they heal, they rip me away.”

Rep - Black (Author); Dyslexic (Author); Lupus (Author); Queer (Author); OwnVoices

TWs/CWs - Alcohol; Animal Corpse; Animal Mutilation; Blood; Bugs; Cheating; Cultural Appropriation; Cussing; Death; Death of a parent; Dissection; Dog breeding; Drugs; Generational trauma; Grief; Gun Violence; Marijuana; Misogyny; Murder; Piss; Police Brutality; Protests; Racial Profiling; Self Harm; Serial Killings; Sexual Content; Sexual Harassment; Slavery; Slaves; Suicide Ideation; Tuberculosis

It was over as soon as I read the title. Or at least that what it feels like and I wasn't wrong. This collection of poetry is absolutely mesmerizing. I love it.

Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reading copy.

The poems were sharp and unforgiving. They were honest, and raw. Sometimes dark and devastating.
It tells about empowerment in a way.
I can feel what it wants to deliver. The feelings were surely noticeable. I enjoy this 💖

I took more time to get through this than with similar books in this genre and writing in this style. It was a unique offering, which was breath of fresh air amidst the same old same old that is often put out there. At times I had trouble connecting but I still valued this more than so many others simply because it was that fresh perspective, a voice I hadn't heard a million times already sharing Instagram-style life advice.

This book of poetry was hard to read, but I'm so glad I did. It was beautifully written. Siaara definitely has a way with words.

When it comes to poetry it's always hard to give a rating. The writing is full of someone's emotions that you're just getting a glimpse of through a tiny crack in the door. And this collection in particular included some of the rawest writing I've faced, as personal and bare as it could get, yet so universal in its pain. Siaara shined both in the writing style and the topics she touched with her poetry (grief, healing, death, class, race, sexuality). However, after seeing the Button Poetry videos, I have to admit some of these pieces were clearly made for spoken poetry, to be recited, and nothing compares to the sound of those words coming directly out of her. The writing itself, isolated from the voice, doesn't do it any justice.

Some of my favorite poems in these were The part of the story I failed to mention, Waste(full), It is hard to tell someone on fire that you're drowning and Hexes for my exes

Overall, I would say this is a solid poetry collection, perfect for anyone who isn't uncomfortable to face every emotion it attempts and succeeds at portraying.

Thank you Button Poetry and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I find poetry really difficult to review, especially when it is so personal and full of emotion as Urbanshee is. I don't read a lot of poetry and sometimes I feel like I just don't get it, but this was wonderful. I do think the description didn't really fit with what the book actually is, but I'm glad I read it. I am really interested in listening to some of Siaara Freeman's spoken work now.

Definitely read this!

“Urbanshee” is a beautifully raw collection of what makes up real, real life. It doesn’t play by old antiquated rules of what can and cannot be said. It’s words truthful and misshapen to form the reality of what growing up as a black woman looks like.

I was already a fan of Siaara's spoken word work so when I saw an ARC of her written work on NetGalley you can imagine my excitement.

While I vastly prefer her spoken work to her written work this was an interesting read. This book is a lot of things, it's grappling with loss, both that of the idea of who someone is and that of that very person. It's a deep cut on what it means to be from and of somewhere. It's beautiful and sad, vibrant and bleak at times.

There's quite a few pop culture references that probably went over my head in there (references to Netflix shows, actors, musicians), so if like me you're not much of a TV/movie watcher you might find yourself googling quite a bit.