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The Fat Black Woman's Poems (Virago Poets)
 
 

The Fat Black Woman's Poems (Virago Poets) (Paperback)

by Grace Nichols (Author) "Beauty is a fat black woman walking the fields pressing a breezed hibiscus to her cheek while the sun lights up her feet ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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  • This item: The Fat Black Woman's Poems (Virago Poets) by Grace Nichols

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Product details

  • Paperback: 64 pages
  • Publisher: Virago Press Ltd (13 Sep 1984)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0860686353
  • ISBN-13: 978-0860686354
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.2 x 0.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 86,479 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #25 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > History & Criticism > Poetry & Poets > 20th Century

Product Description

Review

'Deliciously inert and self-contented, the fat black woman mocks oppression by the scandal of being herself. Inside this slim collection there is a fat woman not even fighting to get out' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Run naturally and economically off the tongue. Beneath the folk rhythms and the lyrical simplicities, Nichols's poems preach disquiet' OBSERVER


OBSERVER

'Run naturally and economically off the tongue. Beneath the folk rhythms and the lyrical simplicities, Nichols's poems preach disquiet'

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Beauty is a fat black woman walking the fields pressing a breezed hibiscus to her cheek while the sun lights up her feet Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Poems that will stay with you., 28 April 1999
By A Customer
I rememember first reading Nichols short collection of poems many years ago. Unfortunately the poems were foisted upon me and i was very objective to the author. However some six years on I have found myself going back to Nichols work with relish. The poems are perhaps very modern in their style which may not suit the tastes of everyone. However there are some absolute masterpieces in the guise of 'The price we pay for the sun' and 'come up and see me some time'. Nichols has the rare ability to be sentimental,tragic yet hopeful in all her poetry, even in the controversial slavery poems. Nichols work has stayed in my mind for several years. It is a curious work that is perhaps too dilute for any minority group to champion, and if you are swayed to purchase the book just by the title alone you may come away feeling disapointed, however, it is a thoroughly enjoyable and meaningful piece of work. It will certainly change your outlook on aspects of life...whoever you are.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical, poignant and powerful, 24 Sep 2009
By Adam Lowe "Author of Troglodyte Rose" (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The Fat Black Woman's Poems really introduced me to poetry writing. I had tried it out before, but always in a schoolyard, nursery-rhyme kind of way. I tried sonnets and haikus and acrostic poems, but rarely did anything have verve or passion. Then I read this, aged 16, and fell in love with poetry and with Nichols specifically. The voice was so clear, slicing through injustice and prejudice with a witty lash of the tongue, a withering glare or a simple yawn. The strength of the Fat Black Woman is her inertness. She loves herself, so it matters little what anyone else thinks. She is round, and thus full and complete; she does not need the starving ideologies of others.

Nichols' verse zings with a straightforward assertiveness, and yet is redolent with flavour. With a few carefully-placed words, she recalls both cold urban spaces and warm, far-off islands, yet firmly resists sentimentalism and the holidaymaker's trappings of palm trees and seashells. Nichols, then, is real, and her voice convincing, whole, bold. Indeed, I was rather surprised to discover our confident Fat Black Woman is, in actuality, a skinny black woman instead. But like Nichols, it's irrelevant which social strata you come from; we all have a little fat black woman inside us.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Topical and Evocative with humour, 9 Dec 2005
By Ga Smith "schaartnung" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The poems in this slim volume are nothing if not colourful and evocative, portraying a woman's contentment with herself and her life and the resulting joy and confidence. The poems are lyrical and musical especially when you read them out aloud. "Praise Song for My Mother" is my favourite as it evokes so many bright vivid memories for me.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
A fantastic collection of straight to the point poetry. Nichols writes about issues that are at the heart of everyday life. It will certainly make you laugh. A brilliant read.
Published on 6 Nov 2001

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