Genre: Poetry, Real Life

First of all, this is not just a 'poetry book' - it is so much more than that, it is a poetic encyclopedia of the fight of women across the whole world.

I wanted to be thorough when reading this so when doing this there were many times where I had to put the book down after reading certain segments just so I could process it all.

​One of the more harder hitting facts, which made me stop and go, "DAMN" was the following sentence/passage from the book:​

​"It was in 2016 that women were finally considered as 'mammals' and not 'objects' in Saudi Arabia."

​One piece of advice when reading this book - 'read it cover to cover' because trust me you do not want to miss a bit of this. Plus, by reading all of the references at the end of the book you'll get much needed context to each of the pieces - making them stand out even more.

What is staggering in this collection of poetry is the vast number of really sensitive subject areas covered - from rape and murder, to child abuse and FGM (female genital mutilation). It's hard hitting stuff covered sensitively and passionately.

​It is this passion that gives this collection its edge. The passion evoked in this book brings out raw and strong emotions as Joelle skilfully tells the tales of these women and their fight for freedom, justice and equality.

Joelle cleverly constructs this book in such a way that in a weird way it doesn't feel like you're reading a poetry collection. For instance, there are pieces of prose, journalism and even segments taken from social media posts. However, the one thing that they all have in common is the poetic themes that run through with the use of metaphors and staggering imagery.

I gave this the highest number of stars I could possibly give (and trust me if I could have given more I would have) in five out of five stars. My reason for this is quite simple - I implore anyone to construct such a volume of work that makes a reader have to put it down every so often in order to comprehend the magnitude of what they have just read. Honestly, this is one of the most expressive, passionate and poignant pieces of poetry I have ever read. If you read anything this year - it has to be this!

Genre: Poetry

Do not be fooled by the size of this pamphlet collection of poetry - To Sweeten Bitter by Raymond Antrobus contains some extremely powerful and emotive poetry that grips both your mind and soul.

​Within this collection Ray clearly explores the emotions of grief after the loss of his father, which is very hard hitting. He looks at varying angels throughout the collection - even commenting on how it has effected other loved ones around him. For instance in his poem "To Say".

What is also noticeable within this pamphlet is the journey that Ray is taking. In loosing his father he is on the path to finding himself, by examining his routes and reflecting on memories and experiences of himself and his loved ones.

The poems are written in varying styles and rhyming schemes which provides the collection with enough variety to keep the reader enthralled and engaged with it's words and verse.

Below is a video of Ray performing a poem from the collection entitled: Jamaican British - as part of the 'Chill Pill Shorts' series:

My reasoning behind awarding this collection five out of five stars is predominantly due in part to the way it made me feel when reading it. I felt like I was travelling with Ray to all of the places and experiencing all of the emotions that he was going through. It really hit at my heart strings - just such a wonderful collection of poetry. A must read...