Wearing My Mother's Heart

LoveReading Says

The award-winning performance poet’s second anthology for teenagers to be published by Walker, really establishes her as one of the foremost poets of her generation, with a powerful and inclusive message for all readers.

While steeped in Black culture and heritage, the universal truths about the debt every young woman owes to the pioneers that went before her and the truths that every woman inherits from her mother and grandmother, will speak to all audiences. There are poems specifically on topics such as religion, identity, race, politics, relationships, mental health and self-love. The experience of love and being loved is seen through all stages from first love to breakup.

What comes through most intensely from this beautifully written collection is a real sense of family and family history and yet also the liberating effect of a strong self-belief. That the next generation can think differently without diminishing the love. “If only for a moment/ I could borrow my mother’s eyes/ and see myself as she does/love myself as she does/ believe in myself with the same certainty as she does,/as if all I can do is prosper” A wonderful affirmative message for young women as they approach the joys and pain of adulthood and have to learn to navigate life. Highly recommended.

Joy Court

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