Sista! An Anthology of Writings by Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean Descent with a UK Connection

by Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (Editor), Rikki Beadle-Blair (Editor), John R. Gordon (Editor)

A joyous and groundbreaking UK-based anthology of writings by and about same gender loving women of African/Caribbean descent, including bi, queer, non-binary and mixed race women. Sista! showcases 31 contributors, offering a mix of biography/memoir, essays/think-pieces, fiction and poetry, and is the companion volume to Team Angelica's 2015 anthology Black & Gay in the UK. Contributors: Andreena Bogle-Walton, babirye bukilwa, Chardine Taylor-Stone, Christina Fonthes, Clementine Ewokolo Burnley, Delphine Spencer, Doreene Blackstock, Eileen Bellot, Germaine Joseph, Gray Akotey, ‘Jenn’, Jennifer Daley, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Kayza Rose, Kesiena Boom, Lettie Precious, Mica Hamilton, Mojisola Adebayo, Monica Beadle, ‘Nea Semba’, Olivette Cole-Wilson, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, PJ Samuels, Remi Graves, Sokari Ekine, Roxanne Simone, Roxene Anderson, Rue Gumbochuma,Tamara McFarlane, Valerie Mason-John, Yrsa Daley-Ward. Editors are Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Rikki Beadle-Blair and John R. Gordon.

Genres: Queer, Nonfiction, Poetry, LGBT, Anthologies

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 18, 2018

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this book for AfterEllen. Read it here: http://www.afterellen.com/books/55388...

[Josefína Čejková · Rating 4 out of 5]

”What I deserved, I did not get, for my only wish is something that cannot be: I want to bend time and sit with the younger me, hold her hand, stroke her head and warn her of what is up ahead.”

”If you can't live with yourself how are you going to live with other people? I needed to find somewhere that allowed me to be by myself, to allow my thoughts to wander freely.”

Incredibly varied and beautiful anthology with poetry, fiction, playwriting and essays. Moving and perspective-expanding, especially when it comes to pieces by the older women who had so much to relay.

[Rochelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF but I suffered too much to not log this.

Such a mixed bag that it makes it hard to enjoy…it’s like whiplash bc one second you’re getting a short story, next a poem (which I’m not a fan of) and then an essay on a topic you have no clue about. The entries I liked were few and far between I don’t think I like this style of book but there were a few writers I might follow up on.

[rayon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a mixed bag, but all of it brave.

[Nico Torán · Rating 3 out of 5]

The unifying attribute of these texts is perhaps too arbitrary for this book as a whole to be a truly great tome; there’s no real underlying thing about the various authors’ common identity I was able to learn from reading this collection. But that is no problem, it’s still a good collection of writings, some very good.

[Alicia Easley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this anthology. Some of the essays and poems stayed on my mind for days.

[M. Ainomugisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Like would she marry me
Does she feel the same way
And when we make love
Does she like it that way”

Germaine Joseph.

Also, everything in the book by P. J. Samuels. All interviews in there. All writings.

Thankful for the sistas that put this out there.