Woman, Eat Me Whole audiobook

I can't say I'm well-versed in poetry, but this was engrossing enough to finish in one sitting. A collection of poems on feminism, motherhood, and the experience of being a woman of color that was truly poignant and thought-provoking. A great way to start off the new year.

I wonderif my parentseven know that I have traumaIf they know it keeps morphingInto jigsaws that pressinto old wounds to create new onesthat I have becomea resilient body waking to new dawnstestament to a war no one sees me fightingARC provided by NetGalley! Thank you so much for the copy!So, I'm not particularly well-versed when it comes to poetry. One of my goals for this year was to get more into it, and this was the first real poetry collection I've read this year. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Unlike most books where I can have fairly objective opinions, I find that it's hard to properly work through feelings that I have about poetry, and this is something that's gone back all the way to middle school English.Still, I blew through this book in one sitting. This collection focuses on womanhood, with emphasis on things that go into the experience of being a woman such as race, misogyny, motherhood, and pain. The pain aspect was the thing that I really enjoyed as I read, because it rings true. So much to being a woman or someone perceived as a woman by society is about pain, both suffering from it and enduring it because that's what you're supposed to do otherwise you're looked down upon.Of note, from a nonbinary pov: it is important to go into this knowing that it doesn't factor in trans and nonbinary women at all. It didn't particularly bother me, but if you're going into this expecting poems about ALL women, that won't be found here. I don't really mind, as this collection is so insanely personal and focuses on the experience of the poet. There's a running theme of poetry about wombs, uteruses, eggs; it gets to the point where it feels like being a woman is being reduced down to just those things, despite it not being the universal experience, but as I sat with this I realized... that's exactly the point? That is how society treats womanhood, whether you have those things or not, and a lot of our value is placed on that. It's awful. It's outdated. It's pain.Overall, I found a lot of this collection rather uneven. Some hit a lot, others kind of missed. The first few didn't really resonate, then I remembered that I'd read that the author does spoken word and I was able to SEE how that influences these poems, and it instantly improved my experience.Standout Poems:- The Audacity of Men (by far my favorite)- Jigsaw- Love Yourself- False Teachings- Sum- That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named

"But if after years, you still have the same pain, it becomes part of your identity to the people who know you, but for you, the pain is always always new."

The poems are divided into 4 parts; Woman, Eat, Me and Whole.I absolutely loved all the poems in the Me Section and some of poems from the Whole part.A few of the poems I couldn’t identify with but most of them I loved because they sounded like home, touched my core or were very-well written(with clear expressions). I saw some of my favorite poems from her chapbook, You too will know me.I love Ama Diaka’s works and will definitely read anything from her!

The craft of poetry is redefined and transformed into the lived experience of roots and rhythm here. A diagnosis and love letter to our innermost organs. The regret and remorse of the emptiness of feminism and the women we can no longer save. Here is poetry used as a portal to move us toward ourselves. It deepens and I am changed.

Vivid poetry. Spoken word Artist.

I don’t always know the best way to review a poetry collection because poetry as a form of writing is so personal. Sometimes poetry isn’t written for me to understand, it was written for the author and the people who share the same experiences. Woman, Eat Me Whole was a physical experience for me. It was vulnerable and made me feel vulnerable. It reminded me of the pain and power that exists within womanhood in a way that is infuriating and beautiful. These poems were hard to swallow but easy to digest, they’re accessible and understandable. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection as a reading experience, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I absolutely absorbed and was held captivated by this book of poetry about womanhood, pain, community, being human. What a glorious introspective journey this collection took me on. I could relate, even if I’m not black, to so much of this - especially parts with universal themes of being a woman and feminism, trauma and pain, rumination on faith and life’s meaning or end, love and all its various forms, men and their take taking taking from women. And with the parts about being a black woman specifically, and about Ghana, the country she’s from, I enjoyed being given the opportunity to learn and view from her. Her rhythm and cadence and thoughts all flowed beautifully for me and I read right through it, and will want to read again. It’s storytelling within poetry. I only imagine how wonderful at spoken word she is. I also loved the various creative chances she took and experimented with in formulating her poetry on the page. As a poet myself, I love doing this. As well, I understood her use of repetition for affect which is something I do myself so it really resonated with me. Many of her poems touched deep inside me and will leave me thinking and peeling layers off them, as well womanhood and society as a whole, for a long while. Thanks very much, Ama, for sharing yourself and your words and thoughts with us in such a poignant and lovely way. For seeing the unbelievable amazingness of women and allowing me to remember to see it, too. My favorites were: False teachings, Love Yourself, That-which-must-not-be-named, the awesome in Me, Jigsaw, Building blocks, Saltwater, Formation, Saturday Evening WhatsApp Message.

What a wonderful and engrossing little book! These poems were Glorious, Heartbreaking, Funny, and Beautiful in equal measure. And I absolutely did eat this collection of poems whole (in almost one sitting!)I found the progression of theme in this book to be lovely, and the style experiments to be fun and pretty effective. I think I had a few issues in my digital copy, but nothing that really hampered my enjoyment. The discussion of the Body as something separate from the Self is something I was very into, alien themes are welcome, especially in this not-necessarily-negative way. Exploration of the Body as an alien and the feelings of that alien read like nothing I've read before, and I was loving it. I was also loving the poems where Diaka is raging against the injustices of the menstrual cycle! It does sometimes really feel like it's out for BLOOD you know.There was a perfect touch of humor in this, and there were also some poems that hurt me in such a good way, so I am extremely grateful for having the chance to read an advance copy of this in exchange for this honest review! I loved it and will be reading it again and also reading whatever else Diaka writes!

Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco publishing for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.Let me just start off by admiring the cover. This cover is what originally caught my attention. It's so bright and eye-catching and mesmerizing. And the title is another attention-grabber. I can't think of the words to describe the emotions that the cover and title combined make me feel.Once you get past the cover, and open the book? The layout. The way these poems are written and stylized was unique and made me love what I was reading even more. Words hold power, and these words were some of the most powerful I've read in a while. "This land would rather teach its daughters how not to get hurt than teach its sons not to hurt"

Woman, Eat Me Whole is a complex but approachable collection of poems about womanhood, trauma, motherhood, and feminism, ranging from Ghana to the U.S. Regardless of your familiarity with poetry, this collection is moving and inventive. It definitely left me wanting to read more of Ama Asantewa Diaka's work!Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This poetry collection is very feminist, and very visceral in the way that it explores body, pain, and womanhood. It has some great explorations of identity and country as well. It was maybe a little more intense or graphic than I wanted at times, but other than that, such a great read.Content Warnings:trauma, chronic pain, abuse, violence towards women, sexism, graphic descriptions

Faves include: Ama NkurumahStill woman?Alien eggsStart: restartFalse teachingsLove YourselfThat-which-must-not-be-namedWoman = painOur utopias are differentthe awesome in MeJigsawMirror, mirrorA utopia for black girls

Open & BoldIf i could rate this book in under 40 words, i would say,A.D.A writes with as much openness as a book. The line, "i want to love you so hard that you would be programmed inside of my being." is one i don't think i will forget any time soon.

I don’t always understand poetry, but I really enjoyed a few of these and the others I was able to understand decently well. I read this book aloud to my 6 week old and hope to continue showing her strong female writers.

I do not read a lot of poetry, but I did really enjoy this book. There were several poems that I really connected with and I’m excited to share some of my favorites!

A powerful portrayal of womanhood, depicting the world we live in and the world we want.

I LOVED the metaphors and symbolism and analogies all throughout this stunning collection of poetry!

J'ai trouvé le recueil un peu inégal. Certains poèmes étaient des bijoux et d'autres moins bon. Mais de manière générale, j'ai bien aimé l'ensemble et les sujets abordés.