Upile Chisala

Book content warnings: parental abuse; partner abuse; mentions of self-harm.

This is my first Upile Chisala book of poetry, and it's one of the few examples of this style of poetry that has been published in the past 5-10 years that I've really enjoyed. Not every poem got to me - but that's usually the case with me and poetry books, there's never been a books of poetry that gets to me with every single poem, and that's okay - but the ones that did, really hit me where it counts. I almost wish I hadn't bought it originally for a good friend of mine as a gift, because I could have easily held onto this book and sank deeper into some of these poems like they were flotation devices made to save me. A lot of beautiful, emotionally open and honest poems that got me. I hope my friend enjoys it as much as I did.… (més)

A few of the poems were brilliant and kicked me in the gut. Others had a turn of phrase that made me inhale deeply and savor it. Unfortunately, most of the poems were fairly unassuming or felt sloppy and rough, but the small gems made it a worthwhile read. There's a lot of potential here, and I would be interested in reading more from Chisala once she's become more polished.

(I got a bit tired of all the poems that started with "my darling" or "my love" or another greeting, like it was the start of a letter instead of a poem. A few times was fine but it was definitely a trend in the collection that felt tired after a while.)

This poem basically summed up my feelings about Chisala's poetry. She's still learning, but I think she'll get there someday.

I am still learning to make language
out of pain,
to write out all the ache.
I am still teaching my fragile
and my strong
that they can co-exist.… (més)