This poetry collection is devastating and beautiful and challenging and interesting and like nothing I’ve read before! Definitely recommend it

A collection of deep, intricate, and detailed poems of all kinds of styles. Each poem is styled differently, which was nice to read! The different kept me turning the page because I knew I'd be greeted with something different! A lot of the poems revolve around racial difference and inequality, while some are about hatred, mental health, etc. I felt connected to a lot of the poems.

Thank you NetGalley and Central Ave Publishing for this Arc!

What an amazing, beautiful, heart wrenching story. Heavy is the Head is such a genuine collection of poems that also just feel heavy in the heart to say the least. These are the kind of poems where I found myself needing to take a walk sometimes just to let the moment breathe. I can’t even begin to tell you how heavy my eyes felt with the raw pain that some of these poems bring. I know you said it’s okay to breathe but sometimes I needed the reminder, there were some poems that felt so heavy that by the end I would realize I was holding my breath.

So when I say this was breathtaking, I mean it. Such a powerful and important story. Loved every single poem. Thank you for sharing this with us!

A hauntingly beautiful collection of modern poetry, Heavy Is The Head by Sumaya Enyegue goes deep into the pain and hurt of abuse, trauma, and assault. It’s not the kind of poetry book that will make you feel good–instead, the poems in this book are so raw with the force of their emotions that they make you feel seen and heard.

Longer review to come soon closer to the release date.

It’s rare that I give 5 star ratings to poetry collections, as individual poems are usually a hit or miss for me. However, I knew from the first poem that I’d love this collection. Enyegue’s titles captured my attention immediately, and even those that were humorous in title still packed an emotional punch in content. I loved the way she used form and even familiar metaphors never felt cliche or overdone. Will definitely be buying a copy when this is released.

WOW. Really loved this book, the writing was so beautiful and had me underlining everything. Such a gorgeous book.

I REALLY loved this book and immediately sent some screenshots to an author I know who I thought would love it also. I rarely purchase physical books anymore (reading mostly electronic copies) but I would be tempted to purchase this once it comes out.

I devoured this work of poetry. It gnawed at my heart and buried itself deep into the crevices of my soul. There was so much I resonated with, being a woman of color, and having experienced things that women should not have to experience. I loved the word style and formatting of every poem, it flowed in a way that didn't feel disruptive, which made for a juxtaposition between the harshness of the content and the beauty of the words themselves. This might have become one of my favorite poetry collections. I know I will be revisiting again in the future.

A brilliant debut. A collection of short and sharp poems on mental health, black girlhood, racism, trauma. Even if you may not be able to relate to some of the poems personally they were brutal and eye opening. The poems were often almost quite lyrical. It made the poems easy to read despite the hard and emotional content. Please read the trigger warnings.

I really enjoyed this collection of poems, but like others have said it’s not something you can read in one sitting. It features heavy topics, but in a beautiful way. My favorite quote was: “If I could choose between this life and the one I thought I would have, I would eliminate the choice altogether. What I’ve got is what I’ve got and no amount of wishing is going to stop the world from catching fire so it doesn’t matter if I ignite in my bedroom or go up in flames in yours- I’m still burning all the same.”

Well, on one hand, I don’t recommend reading this whole collection in one sitting. It is raw and emotional and tackles a lot of big, complicated, and incredibly heavy issues. Check the trigger warnings.

On the other hand, I couldn’t put it down. Chapbooks like these are why I read poetry. I found myself hoping that there would be some thing a little bit uplifting at the end, but I am actually glad that Enyegue didn’t put any sort of neat button on the emotional complexity of this collection.

The language in this book is stunning. Most of the entries are prose-poems. I read a lot of them aloud, partly to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. As a white reader, I felt like it was my job to listen to what she had to say, and I’m not sure what I can add except to say but this is one of the most profound poetry collections I have read in a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy of this book. I preordered a copy for my collection, and so that I can share it with a friend.

Heavy is the Head is a beautiful and heavy collection of poetry exploring experiences that are incredibly human.

Enyegue's poetry was charged with so much emotion centering around trauma and healing, mental health, and other topics that way so many people down. I cried while in awe of Enyegue's eloquence with her words when discussing topics such as mental health, sexual assult, and being black. It was like a gut-punch as I realized that though each person's experience is different, the emotions and pain of trauma can be universal.

I cannot wait to get my hands of a physical copy!

This is a heavy book. It's not the kind that you devour in one sitting. This is a book that needs to be revisited over and over again. Each piece needs to be digested fully before you can move on to the next. I am not usually one for poetry books but I figured I would give this one a shot because the cover is absolutely gorgeous. I am glad I did.

Absolutely well done.

Stunning debut. One of the best poetry collections I’ve ever read.

Sumaya doesn’t just write poetry, she paints a scene before your eyes that is constantly evolving before you can even understand it. The beauty of her poetry is that there are layers and layers to the imagery and language that the reader could spend lifetimes unravelling

Thank you netgalley for this arc.

This collection was really vulnerable and you can tell the author was super passionate about sharing stories that i feel alot of readers will relate to this book touched down on such important topics and i really enjoyed it i felt i was reading a long essay that was beautifully written regarding different topics. My favorite kind of novels are the ones that come from the strength , vulnerability and sharing important stories. Great book!

This book is not an easy read.
The poetry and prose is full of deep and hard-hitting themes and topics.
The way Enyegue writes is full of emotion and although I may not have been personally affected by some of the topics of this book, the empathy I felt while reading was immense.

This book is absolutely incredible. After finishing it I'm genuinely speechless, I don't know what to say to describe how much I loved it. Most of my notes on it are just the name of a poem followed by "!!!" or "holy shit" or "..........." There's so much I related to about girlhood and monstrosity. Sumaya's writing is a gut punch in the best way, and I'd highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Sumaya Enyegue is a South African poet who I couldn't wait to support and read. As a young poet in her twenties she captures the experience of trauma healing and mental health struggles for girls in Black and brown bodies from a place of brutal honesty and introspection. I love how raw her writing style is while also providing insight into the primal emotions we have to navigate and learn to tolerate when healing.

Heavy is the Head deals with difficult themes including sexual assault and sexual violence (read with care). This is a powerful and cathartic poetry collection for Black girls on a healing journey including those who are managing symptoms of depression. If you are on a journey towards decolonizing your body and your relationship to your body this is a highly recommended read!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!

“So, I pack up the loudness of the dead girl’s bones and leave to give everyone some quiet.”

Sumaya Enyegue’s collection of poetry, ‘Heavy Is The Head’, is a hard-hitting collection of poems that depict real life experiences that should be talked about more and the impact these moments can have on a person’s life, mental health and being.

Some heavy themes are explored in this collection including trauma, sexual assault, racism and mental health. These are all things that are so easily brushed under the carpet in our warped society and I admire Enyegue for bringing these issues to light by allowing herself to be completely vulnerable in these pages.

Her poems depict the adversity face by black people, from needless shootings that seem to be endless to people’s careless attitudes that seep into everyday life. She shows the trials faced by women of all ages who are objectified much too regularly and how victims of rape are blamed while excuses are made for the perpetrators.

She also touches on the difficulties of suffering with anxiety and depression and how sometimes admitting to the struggle still doesn’t lead to help. She describes how sometimes it isn’t about wanting help but just needing someone to acknowledge the battle that’s fought on a daily basis.

Some of my favourite poems in this collection are “Good Daughters”, “Missing Person’s Report”, “Origin Story” and “Symptoms of Womanhood”. Striking imagery is used throughout that reinforces the messages this collection has to offer.

I highly recommend this read!

(Due to the themes explored it could be quite triggering so please be aware of this)

Release date: 1st August 2023

Heavy is the Head is a collection of poetry that explores trauma, mental health, and Black girlhood in short, sharp poems that don't shy away from the harshness of life or sugar-coat healing processes. In terms of style, there's some prose poems and others more lyrical, some very short and some playing with form using lists. At times the style of poems wasn't quite what I tend to enjoy, but other poems used words powerfully to present painful realities and moments of honesty. Lots of the titles of the poems brought witty, bitter edges to them, playing off phrases or other poem titles (like 'The Black Girl Dies In This One'), and even with the intense subject matter (it's worth noting the content warnings at the start of the collection) there's a lot of wit brought with the anger to make powerful points throughout the book.