Somebody give this heart a pen by Sophia Thakur
Walker books, 2019. ISBN: 9781406388534.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. An ode to the emotional release of
writing, Gambian-British poet Sophia Thakur's poems are courageous
in the exploration of identity, racism, love, violence, sorrow,
faith and so much more. This is the first published collection of
poems by the performance poet who has been writing, speaking and
performing since a teenager. When I found her extremely moving
spoken performance of her title poem 'Somebody give
this heart a pen' on YouTube I was surprised at how young she
is, because the tone of her work sounds mature and experienced, and
her language is so rich and expressive. And while the subjects may
sometimes be harsh there is none of the swearing that characterises
some slam poets, so this volume of poetry can easily be recommended
for teenage as well as adult reading. Some of the subjects will
resonate with teenage readers - such as conflict with parents, and
love and relationship break-up. Also, political topics such as
refugees and racism could be focus for classroom discussion.
Following an introduction titled 'the process', Thakur's poetry is
ordered into sections: Grow, Wait, Break, and Grow again, following
the path of life experience. It is clear she sees writing as
self-expression and growth. She writes Slow down and clock back
into yourself / Give your heart a pen. Her final poem is also
an exhortation to write - Write through and write around /
Absolutely everything that tries to steal your sound. I think
young budding song composers and writers could find her words
inspirational. It was Thakur's love of hip hop that initially
fuelled her passion for writing. Her book shows that performance
poetry can be read and enjoyed over again in written form. I can
recommend this book for teenage readers and also for adults who
enjoy savouring the language of poetry.
Helen Eddy