Warsan Shire
Shire’s work become the backbone Beyonce’s Lemonade, and with good reason. She writes pieces with the overarching theme of feminine empowerment, through the lens of survival through heartbreak, divorce, and immigration.
For “Redemption” in Lemonade, she writes:
“Grandmother, the alchemist, you spun gold out of this hard life,
conjured beauty with things left behind. Found healing
where it did not live. Discovered the antidote in your own kit.
Broke the curse with your own two hands. You passed these
Instructions down to your daughter who then passed it down to
her daughter.
You can buy Teaching my Mother How to Give Birth here.
Andrea Gibson
Gibson also focuses on survival, but often through the lens of vivid discussion around working through and with mental health conditions. She also writes killer love poems.
In “I Sing the Body Electric; Especially When My Power Is Out”, she writes:
“I said to the sun
‘Tell me about the big bang’
The sun said
‘it hurts to become’
I carry that hurt on the tip of my tongue
And whisper bless your heart every chance I get
So my family tree can be sure I have not left
You do not have to leave to arrive
I am learning this slowly”
You can watch this poem performed aloud here and buy The Madness Vase here.
Jan Beatty
Jan Beatty is a Pittsburgh poet who has worked as a social worker and waitress. She draws from real-life experience for her poetry, making it incredibly rich and powerful.
Her poem “My Father Teaches Me to Dream” can be found here. Her book Red Sugar can be bought here.
Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich was one of the most iconic feminist poets and essayists of the 20th century. Her insights shaped many modern feminist movements. She even declined the National Medal of the Arts in protest of Newt Gingrich’s proposal to end funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.
She wrote: “When a woman tells the truth, she is creating the possibility for more truth around her.”
You can buy her collected poems here.