Gills

by Ayomide Bayowa

Gills is the debut collection of Ayomide Bayowa, the current Poet Laureate of Mississauga and a rising star in Canadian poetry. Born in Lagos, Bayowa found his path to poetry at the University of Ibadan, Oyo. He brings a diasporic sensibility to his writing, which is an intricate meshing of narrative voices, dramatic tellings and hip hop rhythms. These poems interrogate belonging, race, identity and the diasporic struggle with the socio-economic system of debt. They are written for the millions of immigrants trying to keep their head up, trying to uphold skin and breath and bones. They are poems written to enable people to survive, even under water.

Genres: Poetry, Canada

96 pages, Paperback

Published April 18, 2023

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Gills by Ayomide Bayowa! This is a great poetry book debut! I liked the various forms and use of space on the page. In Rap Sheet I liked the dual meaning and how Driving Test is set in the Greater Toronto Area. I really enjoyed the mention of a Westlife song and the content warning at the beginning of Migraine Thesis. My fave poems are Herbs & Psychosis and Driving Test. I’m so glad I got to read this collection!

Thank you to Wolsak & Wynn for my gifted review copy!

[Emma M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eden, you would like this. Overall, this wasn't for me, but the few poems that I really liked were enough to push this to 4 stars.
This feels like the kind of poetry that should be read out-loud/heard because of the word choice and how the rhythm of the sounds come together, because just reading it feels like it's just a jumble.