Poetry Book Review: Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans

Publisher

Penguin Random House

Publication Date

3/9/2021

Pages

245

Price

$15.00

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"Jasmine's poetry is timeless and will inspire the many generations to come."

I have been wanting to get my hands on Jasmine Mans book ever since I discovered her on Instagram from her spoken word poem "Cycles" and I was completely enamored. Her flow, cadence, and words completely captured me as I thought to myself I'm so glad I discovered her. After going down the rabbit hole on her YouTube channel being captivated by her work video after video, it was only right that I grabbed a copy of her book titled Black Girl, Call Home and I must say, this piece of art truly touched me.

Jasmine Mans book is an ode to all black woman who were once that little girl this book captures. This book truly gave me a nostalgic feeling as some of her pieces reminded me of the very own conversations and livelihood I had myself growing up. Jasmine also touches on growing up as a young queer black woman(a path I've walked and can personally relate to) feminism, sexual abuse, and racism. Among the poems that had me speechless other then her very popular piece, "Footnotes for Kanye", was "A Pouring Thing" — a short excerpt:

"....Slave women weren't allowed

to claim themselves,

or demand

that you treat them like ladies...."

page 134

This poem had me completely tongue-tied before I could eventually mutter out the word "Wow..." because I know the story Jasmine tells in this piece was once an all to real reality for many slave women. This book of poems truly is a profound work of art that many should find the time to set aside and be engulfed by her words. Jasmine's poetry is timeless and will inspire the many generations to come. Black Girl, Call Home has also been honored the 2022 Stonewall Book Award.

You can follow Jasmine Mans on instagram @poetjasminemans and check out her YouTube channel "Jasmine Mans"