A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland | 
so-soAs someone who is not opposed to, but does not typically read, poetry, I thought this was okay. The poems were good overall. I would have liked more from the introductions of the women. Some were just vague impressions of the women; most didn't even mention their incarceration. I found it difficult to connect with the poetry when I knew so little about the subjects. Still, some of the poems are so powerful regardless of the context.
pickI don‘t think my words will accurately sum up this collection of poems better than how the autor herself does. Hill opens her preface by saying that reading these poems “will not comfort.” She goes on to say later that these “poems are love letters.” And in between that, she asked herself “what will my tears record today?” I felt and I saw all that and more while I read each poem.
pickWhat a powerful read. You can read it within an hour, and then again, and again. It is a chronicle of Black women who were incarcerated; each chapter starts off with a summary, and ends in poetry that tells the story of their lives and their struggles. What are the stories of the Black Womxn in your life? Highly recommended. Shown: one of the most beautiful peoplx I know, who has taught me so much. They are doing community work in Texas.
pickWow. What a powerful book. Sent me into a deep dive on history to learn about amazing women I‘ve not heard about before. @WanderingBookaneer @TheBookKeepers @rachelm I have so appreciated the poets you have introduced me to!!!! The past few years I‘ve been incorporating more poetry into my life. And Rachel—apologies—Coco sent me two books in one package and I mailed the later read to you. I will get this one in the mail to you tomorrow.
@WanderingBookaneer this arrived today! I absolutely loved the goodies you included - thank you!! #lmpbc @SamAnne @rachelm
"History told him that he could squeeze gold from black women‘s wrists with iron cuffs. Is that why he braided the noose to resemble a lasso?"
#blackhistorymonth
I feel like it wouldn‘t be Sunday without a #LibraryHaul 🤓
pickI loved, loved, loved this book! Part memoir, part ode/tribute to her ancestors and mentors and very thoroughly researched and curated, this book is truly memorable. I had the privilege of attending a reading by the author and it made me appreciate the work and vulnerability it took to create. Highly recommend.
pickThis book is a mix of history, poetry, and memoir/poetry mainly about the history of criminalizing black women in history and raising a black son with the realities of police brutality. It‘s a very quick read but still very informative and powerful.
The author has been quoting from the book Colored Amazons: Crime, Violence, and Black Women in the City of Brother Love, 1880-1910 by Kali N. Gross, Ph.D before many of her poems and so far I have learned that I must read this book.
“Between 1980 and 2014 the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 700%” -The Sentencing Project
pickI inadvertently finished my first #ReadHarder2019 task - poetry collection pubbed after 2014 - because the flap copy for this book doesn‘t mention that DaMaris Hill‘s responses are in poetry form! 🙀 (well, the Claudia Rankine comp should have clued me in, maybe) And they are STUNNING. Each one is for a Black woman “bound” by incarceration, whether enslavement, racism, Jim Crow, misogyny, or the modern prison-industrial complex. Highly recommend.
