I find my strength in simple things

by Desree

“I Find Myself in Simple Things writes into a world of renewed racism and white supremacy, where black boys are expected to fail and black girls eroticised and ignored. Desree speaks directly to a younger generation inheriting this collective grief, and works hard to guide them through. It is a book about love.The language is angled and insistent, a metronome of resistance in every piece. And throughout, there a sudden moments of poetry, like rip tides, that threaten much larger questions. You will look up to men who dont look up to see the sky. Stunning” — Joelle Taylor, Poet, Performer and Author of Songs My Enemy Taught me

“Desree's I Find My Strength In Simple Things comes loaded with honesty, clarity, and the bottomless depth of a tremendous writer & performer applying her skills to create a collection of poems that battle racial and gender injustices, display self-empowerment, and aren't afraid to be chillingly sincere in an age of cynicism” — The Repeat Beat Poet, Artist, Culture Producer and Host of Lunar Poetry Podcast

52 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2021

About the author

Desree is an award-winning writer, spoken word artist, educator and producer based in London and Slough. An alumna of Born: Free Writers Collective, Jerwood Arts and the Obsidian Foundation, Desree was Poet in Residence at Glastonbury Festival 2022 and Slough’s EMPOWORD. A familiar voice on BBC Radio Berkshire, her work has been broadcast on Sky Arts, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah; and published in JOY//US Poems of Queer Joy, Ink Sweat & Tears, Spoken Word London’s Anti-Hate Anthology and more. Desree's debut poetry collection, Altar, with Bad Betty Press, arrives in Spring 2025.

Reviews

[Jo McKenna-Aspell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review here: https://thewonkylibrarian.home.blog/2...

[Ben Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection from a brilliant poet covering a range of topics (relationships, race, gender, class, self esteem and hangovers) with style, lyricism, occasional humour and punchy emotive imagery. Beautiful balance of the personal and political, specific and abstract/universal.

Great to include QRs to live performances.

Personal favourites were Dear Ms Williams, Lost Boys, Affording Justice and Home.

Best bar: we were whipped and now buy whips, live in cribs because our growth scares them