Reading the poetry of Warsan Shire
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is one of the cleverest musical artists - and auteurs - of her generation. In 2016 she released her sixth solo studio album, a 12-track album accompanied by a politically and visually stunning hour-long film. The visuals and music spoke for themselves, but the album had a third dimension – poetry – which sealed the project’s status as a cultural masterpiece. Throughout the album Beyoncé’s voice can be heard reciting lines of verse – arresting, startling, emotive, and powerful lines -- penned by Somali-British writer and activist Warsan Shire. Shire’s poetry is adapted and refracted in Lemonade to enrich and enhance Beyoncé’s personal exploration of (in)fidelity, relationships, and the black female experience. So impactful was this aspect of the album that it was described by one critic in the New York Times as forming the backbone of Lemonade. The critical acclaim Warsan Shire garnered from this collaboration with a bona fide musical icon/genius cemented the poet’s own pop-cultural importance.
For anyone new to the work of Warsan Shire, Lemonade is a brilliant jumping off point for exploring her already impressive back catalogue. Even before Beyoncé recognised Shire’s genius, the writer’s poetic star had been ascendant. Her poems have been included in various collected editions, journals and magazines as well as appearing online. Indeed, Shire is often promoted as the poster girl for a new band of prolific and gifted writers who use Twitter as a platform for their work. The association with social media might lead you to believe that Warsan Shire’s poems are whimsical or easy reads. They are not. Shire was born in Kenya to Somalian parents and grew up in London. Somewhat understandably, many of the poet’s works speak directly of the immigrant experience, exploring notions of belonging and displacement. Intersectional topics (sex, gender, conflict and cultural assumptions) are also given startlingly honest treatment in Shire’s poetry. The emotive power inherent in Shire’s writing is difficult to convey adequately.
To date, she has authored three poetry collections: Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth (flipped eye, 2011), Her Blue Body (flipped eye, 2015), and Our Men Do Not Belong to Us (Slapering Hol Press and Poetry Foundation, 2015). In 2013 she was the recipient of Brunel University’s first African Poetry Prize, and was later appointed as the first Young Poet Laureate for London.
A disclaimer to end: Shire’s poetry deals with incredibly sensitive issues and includes numerous references to, and descriptions of, sexual assault. These poems, therefore, will not suit a BGE audience. However, with careful planning these poems could – and definitely should – be used with National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher English pupils.
If you only have one period...
Prepare an Advanced Higher Textual Analysis paper on ‘Your Mother’s First Kiss’ or ‘You were Conceived’ (both in Teaching my Mother How to Give Birth, 2011).
If you only have one copy of Warsan Shire’s poems...
Suggest it to an S6 Advanced Higher English pupil looking to produce an original Dissertation exploring contemporary cultural and identity politics or examining themes of home, journeying or displacement. Use Series 4 of the excellent podcast series Dissect as a goldmine of secondary criticism on Shire’s poetry (as interpreted by Beyoncé).
The poetry of Imtiaz Dharker (start with Luck is the Hook, 2018) would make for a good comparative study at this level.
If you have a Senior Phase Class...
Use ‘Conversations About Home (at the Deportation Centre)’ as a writing stimulus for a Broadly Creative Folio piece or as the jumping off point for a Spoken Language group discussion at Higher. ‘Conversations about Home’ takes the form of a four-section prose poem. Section one deals with the speaker’s departure from her homeland; section two deals with her perilous journey towards refuge; and sections three and four deal with the speaker’s attempts to culturally assimilate in order to belong in a new country. You might only focus on the first two sections in the classroom.
Before engaging with the poetry, ask pupils to explore news articles/images related to Deportation Centres. You’ll find an interesting place to start here: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/11/life-in-a-uk-immigration-removal-centre-worse-than-prison-as-criminal-sentence.
You’ll find a link to our Wakelet page on Warsan Shire in the Teaching and Learning section of the website.