The Shaping of an "Angry" Black Woman

by Tamara Woods, Peter Santilli (Editor), Derek Vasconi (Editor)

The Shaping of an "Angry" Black Woman is the debut book of poetry by author Tamara Woods. Written over 15 years, each poem challenges conventional society and is poised with acerbic, witty, and abrasive language that is reflective in the often discussed isotope of society, that being the "Angry" Black Woman. In the words of Tamara herself: "I wore anger like it was my favorite pair of Chucks, giving people what they wanted. A minstrel show played with black emotions rather than a shoe-polished face. This brings around an unspoken rule: The expectation of anger renders my anger invalid as it is my starting point, so it's not that important. This collection of poems takes a look at life, written over a fifteen year span of mine. It is flawed oddities, beauty foiled with ugliness. We are all more than just angry. Women are more complicated than just that."

Genres: Poetry

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2014

About the author

Tamara Woods was raised (fairly happily) in West Virginia, where she began writing poetry at the age of 12. Her poetry takes a close look at the human condition, particularly race relations and classism. Her first poetry collection "The Shaping of an "Angry" Black Woman" is available for order at Sakura Publishing site and at Amazon.

She has previous experience as a newspaper journalist, an event organizer, volunteer with AmeriCorps and VISTA, in addition to work with people with disabilities. She has used her writing background to capture emotions and moments in time for anthologies such as Empirical Magazine,one of the founding editors of The Reverie Journal, her blog PenPaperPad and writing articles as a full-time freelance writer.

She is a hillbilly hermit in Honolulu living with her Mathemagician.

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Reviews

[Laura Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

She nailed it. Every piece moved the reader fluidly through a tale of growth and learning, of breaking down and building up. Parts left me in tears, while others had me, fist raised in the air, wanting more and more. I cannot wait to see more work from this talented poet!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost every time I read one poem, I had to put it down for a minute and think. Not only did it give me something to think about, but it also made me want to write something on my own - it was just so beautifully written that I felt beyond inspired to rise to the level at which these poems were created!
How so few words can show such a long history - how it can show such a harsh history - I'll definitely read it more than once. I admired every page of this book/collection of poems, and I highly recommend everyone to read it as well!

[Cynthia Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love poetry, you will love "Angry" Black Woman. Tamara weave a "Mean" story within her poetic tales. Taken from her perspective as a Black Woman, and there is beauty in the rough and sacred. Personal favourites include Ink's Pain, Math Atheist, and Snow Fall.

I really love poetry, and I especially love poetry that tell a story.

So, go check it out! Is really good!

[Starr Bryson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful poetry that packs a punch. Tamara's words will leave you laughing, crying, and sometimes feeling like your heart is breaking . . . but in a good way. She weaves her life, her pain and her triumphs into amazing poetry that hits hard, reads well, and evokes a lot of feeling.

[Amy Tasukada · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit I don't really that much poetry, but wanted to start reading more. I bought this book first an loved with. Tamara had such wonderful prose. I would read and stop and think how wonderful the line is, how the imagery came out into my head. Excited to see more from this author.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. An inside look into the author's soul. Some poems made me laugh out loud and others made my heart cry. Very descriptive language. A must read.