5 stars. Great poetry collection! Review to come.

Due to being a high school English teacher, I am often behind on writing reviews. Here is a summary of my initial thoughts.

Poetry books have been all the rage for some time now. However, it is refreshing to find a book that speaks on topics other than love and loss. These poems teach lessons on self acceptance and identity, all while reflecting on the current state of the world.

One of the points that I love about this book is that it does not speak ONLY to the black experience. Although Akinyemi's book is timely given the current landscape and socio-political climate, this book is more than an anti-racism book. There are stories here that need to be told to everyone regardless of their skin color or their beliefs.

My favorite poem <i>Consensual: Not a Taboo</i> hit me really hard. Part of me wants to quote a line or two but I just urge others to read the book in its entirety to find this gem and ruminate on the message.

This was a short read but well-written book which I highly recommend.


<i>This ARC was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

THIS WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.. I Cried and sobbed reading some stories. I was so pleased with this work and I need everyone to give this a read.

Thank you for providing me with this poetry collection, it was absolutely amazing. I really enjoyed this book and can only recommend it. I wish it was a bit longer because the writing was beautiful.

//~ Equality is a forgotten child. The blood of the innocents soil the World. Racial Injustice walks tall.
The graves of our ancestors quake in anguish at this perpetual ignominy.///
Name: Black≠Inferior
Author: Tolu A. Akinyemi
Genre: Poetry, Racism, Discrimination, Violence, Black Lives Matter
Rating:4.8/5
Review:
Black≠Inferior is a unique and provocative collection of poetry which is written on the themes of racism and black inferiority and BLM movement. This collection is a black poet's effort to support Black Lives Matter.
"It's not a concoction of a waning memory."
The poems are so full of emotions, it reflects blacks' rage and anger which have been silenced and fuelled for centuries. The poet speaks against the crimes, police brutality and violence against black men, women and children. This book speaks for the people, their unhealed wounds, their silenced pain and their voice which have been unheard for a very long time.
This book is amazing and so heart breaking. It is a must read for everyone.

Wowwwwww such a beautiful collection of poems.

2020 was a really eye opening year for me as a white Latina. Realizing, now more than ever, the ways that I benefit from my priveledge and then reading poems such as these is a really emotional experience. Knowing that Black people are made to feel the way the author describes on these pages makes me deeply emotional and I'm ever committed to being an ally to my Black brothers, sisters, family, and friends.
With this collection releasing on Jan 1st of the new year, it's perfectly timed after the revolutionary year that was 2020. I think it's really important for everyone who isn't Black to take a step back and realize how people of color have been made to feel since the beginning of time and I applaud the author for peeling back all the layers and expressing such raw emotion.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Black Inferior is a beautiful yet saddening book of poetry surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. This books aim is to give hope and support people of colour to feel and become more important and equal in the world today. This book is a mantra for the future.
My favourite poem was Survivor - this poem really got under my skin and touched my heart.
Thank you Tolu' A. Akinyemi for another fantastic and moving book of poems.

Short but very sharp poetry collection celebrating Blackness and condemning anti-Black racism. I wish this collection had more work included, and I wish it was a little more expansive in scope. But the poems included are powerful and important, and Akinyemi's voice is much needed.

This book was well written and a powerful collection of poetry. I really recommend it to everyone. Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me this copy of this amazing book!

As usual, Akinyemi nailed his deeply political poetry, with the perfect ratio between angry and appreciative. This is how political poetry should be, I can’t help but think whenever I read his work: it’s complete, showing both hatred and love. The anger towards society, towards the oppression is there, as it should, but so is the appreciation of those who are oppressed, whose beauty in every singular way is portrayed wonderfully, with care.

Reading Akinyemi’s work feels like fierce protection, a sentiment that has a basis on hating what you’re facing and loving what’s behind you, the things and people you have a duty, a desire to protect.

There’s also some beauty in the way that those political poems aren’t implied: ‘black lives matter’ is written very explicitly in several poems, and the messages are very direct, while still being a poetic message full of metaphors.

While “A Booktiful Love”, another poetry work by Akinyemi, has a few works about individual struggles, not only political, social ones, this book is exclusively about the latter. This book is a protest, mainly against racism, but you can also find one poem or another about sexism.

There are words and verses that feel just like raw power, such as:

"Do not cry for me, for though I may be gone,
my words make me immortal.
I’m a god; gods don’t die!"

It’s as striking as lightning, as strong as stone, and I could go on with a dozen other metaphors, but it won’t compare with the sensation of reading this excerpt yourself. I highly recommend this book if you’re going through a reading slump, since the poems are short and straightforward, though still lyrical.

Tolu A. Akinyemi shared story, identity, and experience along the powerful accordances of poetry. There is much to enjoy and appreciate about this work, and also much to learn.