SMEAR: Poems for Girls

This is a great collection of poems for women of any age. I really enjoyed the variety of topics covered. I highly recommend this!

i love the poems within this novel. I definitely recommend for those in a reading slump and those that love poetry.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a book of poetry for females jam packed with very deep and some a little disturbing, poems.
Some poems I liked and some were just far too heavy for me to get my attention.
Don't let this put you off though as that is just my opinion and preference.
The poems cover many topics related to women and some may relate well to you as an individual.

"I was a virgin
And you were writing poems painting me as a whore
Because that was your immature response to not getting any.
...
I'm thinking of all the women "slut-shame"
Because they said yes AND because they said no
That fragile, fragile male ego...
...Isn't women's responsibility.
This society is so fucked up
And I'm so fed up with male entitlement.
Back then, I was a virgin
And you... acted like a complete dick, to be honest.
You never hurt me more than that before
And I never let you have the chance to hurt me since then."

Smear is a feminist collection of all female poetry, including themes of objectification, abortion, early motherhood, first kiss, body image, depression...and more.

Some poems, in this collection, are light, soft and hearty; some are dark, gloomy and a cry for help but then there are some which are so powerful that it can shake your ground and land you on your back. This collection symbolizes womanhood just the right way that it really saddened me that it was just out of place in certain places and felt like it would have done better in a different place. I had to skip through some because even though I have no trigger issues, some were just too much for me to go through.

I haven't read an anthology like this before so I am extremely pleased and amazed with the perfection in mastering the style the poems are written in, by the poet/poetess'. Every poet/poetess in this book are immensely skilled to pronounce the strength each one of their works hold beautifully.

I related to very few poems in the book but almost all of it resonated within me except a couple which didn't work out for me/skipped. It gave me a headache but it turned out to be worthwhile!

Recommended: To anyone looking for all feminist collection, go for it but there are so many triggers in this collection. It breaks my heart that the triggers in a collection like this are expected and almost welcoming.

Great for fans of poetry, especially for feminists who are interested in hard-hitting subjects. I would recommend it as a quick read.

100 stunning poems from many women from different countries, backgrounds and styles of prose. Very well curated and thought provoking.

What an equally fun and serious collection of poetry!  Where there is fun to be found in being a girl, there are equal amounts, if not more, of serious moments of grave dangers and unfortunate situations.  What do we make of the time when we get our first period?  Or the times when our boyfriend doesn't take us seriously?  Or even the times when we get cat-called in the streets?  What then?

These poems are a response to such times, and evoke an empowering, strengthening mood.  At least, they were quite empowering to me.  They reminded me of the poetry I used to identify with back when I was a teen and young adult, of the times where I felt like I could do anything.  And we (read: I) need more of that feeling.  That being said, this is the perfect teen poetry read for 2020.  It's fiery, passionate, and wants nothing more than to fight with and for the girls reading it.

A powerful and sincere anthology of pieces from many incredible female poets. The poems here cover a range of important themes and strike the heart on every page.