In Her Voice: The 2020 Poetry Anthology: Jacaranda Twenty in 2020

by Theresa Lola, Tolu Agbelusi, Brenda Garrick

Part of the #TwentyIn2020 collection for Black British writing, In Her Voice is an anthology that celebrates five poetry collections. This includes Locating Strongwoman by Tolu Agbelusi, Where the Memory Was by Hibaq Osman, Jamakespeare by Brenda Garrick, The First Collection by Sarah Lipton-Sidibeh and On Reflection by Adjoa Wiredu. ‘In these five poetry collections Black women navigate different stages of life. Adjoa Wideru takes us through school, Sarah Lipton Sidibeh maps the body through ageing, Tolu Agbelusi interrogates the strong Black woman stereotype, Brenda Garrick inserts Jamaican patois into Shakespeare's work which was studied by both the young and old, and Hibaq Osman uncovers intergenerational conversations. The range of poetic voices in these five collections remind us that Black British women have a range of stories to tell and their individual experiences are nuanced.' (Theresa Lola) With an exclusive introduction from poet and writer Theresa Lola, the Young People's Laureate for London, 2019-2020.

Genres: Poetry

Audio CD

First published December 17, 2020

Reviews

[Rachael Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never listened to poetry before but listened to this for my reading challenge. I actually quite enjoyed listening to most of the poetry.

[Jamie (Books and Ladders) · Rating 3 out of 5]

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Some of the poets and narration were really good while others just didn't do it for me. A solid middle of the road collection.

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[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag. Some of these are glorious, some border on smug.

[Peter Longden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monday 19 August 2024
#thesealeychallenge
Day 19
In Her Voice: The 2020 Poetry Anthology
This is an amazing anthology of five poetry collections by Black women poets each concerned with different stages of life: Adjoa Wideru looks at school, Sarah Lipton Sidibeh discusses the ageing body, Tolu Agbelusi investigates strength of the Black woman, Brenda Garrick adds her own Jamaican patois style to into Shakespeare's work and Hibaq Osman discovers conversations between different generations.
I’m glad I listened to it for the range of voices reading the poems and it is a superb collection.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was brilliant! As with a lot of poetry there will be poems I like more and some less which is why this is 4 stars. I so enjoyed this it was a beautiful collection of poems from the hear of amazing women expressing their lived experiences. So great. I especially loved the audiobook as it was read by the poets and to hear a poet tell you a poem how they intend it to be heard is one of my favourite things! Highly recommend this if you have audible as it’s included in the monthly membership 😊

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Her Own Words is written and narrated by multiple black poets. They are powerful. Each Author has a different perspective and style. If you listen, the narration is great. The poems that are a mix of Shakespeare’s style with the pidgin English of the islands was especially fun to listen to.

[Katie Bennett]

DNF - unfortunately lost interest due to the variation in poetry styles and voices reading the audiobook.

[Crickets · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it (3.5). Enjoyed some poems more than others, but they were all interesting. Listened to the audiobook in a couple of days. I liked the diversity in narration styles.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patchy. Some little gems in there but really inconsistent. Enjoyed the way it was narrated by the poets but the jump between was difficult and clunky in places due to the really different styles.

[Hadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection. The variety of writing styles / narrators were so pleasing to listen to.

[boe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy poetry, and I find poetry (and books in genral) from different perspectives important to read x

[Tyler McCutchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great anthology! Gifted this three outta five as I only cared for three of the five poets included in the collection. Some great work here!

[Natali · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who's native language is not English, holy crap was the Jamaican accent/poems hard to understand. I had to skip all that.