This book of poetry was hard for me. The poems are deep and beautiful but I just unfortunately couldn't connect to them as I hoped. Poetry is so subjective, I recommend to anyone interested in it that they read it. I think it's important to stretch your boundaries.

“get yo shit together girl . . . if we can be that close so when my children are being killed in the streets you rise up too you cry into my hair screaming those were our sons”

Is there a way to give this more than 5 stars? This was beautiful, empowering, emotional, passionate, influencing and eye-opening among other emotions. A quick read but I cannot think of someone who shouldn’t read this, if just to gain perspective into another humans life.

Thank you to the Author and NetGalley.com for the Advanced Readers Copy. I cannot wait to get a physical copy for my shelf 💛

This collection of poems pulls you into the author’s mind. I found myself wanting to follow the trail of information about her lived experiences a bit farther, as some of the poems felt more surface level to me while some dove deep. I loved when she explored haikus, I think that really showcased her unique voice in a traditional format.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Let’s talk about it! This was like a warm embrace from home and a hot comb—part girl talk, part therapy session, and just a little bit of shower cry. These radiant poems celebrate Black Southern womanhood, delving into the complexity of survival and revolution through the lens of Black femininity.

Stringfellow's verses beautifully capture the duality of life, where strength can coexist with silence, loyalty with betrayal, and rage with love. Each poem is deeply personal, resonating with every Black woman who has encountered similar experiences or knows someone who has.

Reading this collection feels like a powerful affirmation of collective humanity and resilience. It's unapologetic, raw, and ultimately liberating—a love letter to the magic inherent in embracing our full selves.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I have not read Stringfellow's debut novel, [book:Memphis|52268640] (although I remember it getting a lot of hype so perhaps I should check it out!), so I enjoyed this as a first experience with her work. These poems mostly follow a similar cadence (although Stringfellow does experiment with both haikus and sonnets here, which I thought was pretty effective) and the thematic exploration of the challenges of being a Black woman in America I thought was well explored. Overall, not a terribly memorable collection, though.

Thanks to Dial Press for an early copy through Netgalley, Magic Enuf comes out on June 25.

I honestly devoured this. As a poetry lover, i really just felt every emotion that the author put in every letter of this work. These poems focus on the magic, hardships and just wonder of being a Southern Black Woman. I feel like if this became an audiobook, read by the author it would be absolutely untouchable.

I will absolutely be returning for more by this author.

I went into this book blindly but with April being poetry month I wanted to give it a try. I’ve known the author to only write fiction prior to this. This book exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed just about every poem but the ones that stuck out the most to me were the letters to Tupac, Kanye West, Harriet Tubman and George Floyd daughter because they felt like letters I would write to them myself. Other ones that will stay with me are “In yo life”, “Contemplating leaving my white husband” and “poem at 35”. A 5 star read, would def recommend!

A powerful collection of poems on being a Black Southern woman. This was a raw, insightful, and beautiful read that lingers

Tara is such a talent! A force. Her poetry was moving and powerful. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A collection of vivid poems ranging from dazzling, intense, and sorrowful. The author covers the gamut of emotions with revealing scenes and stories reminding us that between self-introspection, complex human relationships, systemic racism, and whatever else that negatively creeps into our lives, we are magic enough to withstand it.

✨ Review ✨ Magic Enuff: Poems by Tara M. Stringfellow

Thanks to Dial Press Trade Paperback and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Wow! What an amazing debut poetry collection by Stringfellow. This is one of the most accessible books of poetry I've encountered, but at the time, it's rich in depth and meaning.

A book that celebrates women and their relationships, that invokes Black Southern womanhood, that mourns violence against Black bodies, and so much more.

A section of poems is dedicated to victims of police brutality (or to family members), and this section is particularly powerful in the strength of her writing.

But, despite this sadness, the book stretches to look for the magic that binds people together and sustains them through grief and hard times, and that might just be magic enuff.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: poetry
Pub Date: 25 Jun 2024

This isn’t poetry you read to feel warm. This book contains poetics that enlighten you - about lives unlike (or like) your own.

Perhaps you are unsure how to feel; the writing is beautiful so you enjoy it, just as you fear the words on the pages — the feelings underwritten.

This is a collection of poetry about race, about culture, about an experience of blackness - not rare yet not wildly relatable, depending entirely on where you are from.

As a NY-born black woman, living in Brooklyn, birthed as GenZ, my reality looks different. However, I am no less affected - no less sheltered from these words, from these experiences.

I too have been held down by white men, spit on, called nigger. Had white children yell obscenities at me from car windows.

The oppressor matters less than the impact - a husband, a hatred fueled adversary, a former friend. As black women, we share a pain that this book unearths and spreads before you, unwilling to be ignored.

The poetry is beautiful, the feelings are hard.

This collection of poems spoke to me as a Southern Black woman, a sister and a daughter. Tara Stringfellow has painted pictures of Black Southern living that are authentic and beautiful. Her poems are vulnerable and yet celebratory at times. From failed marriages to racism and odes to siblings and strong black women, these poems are a journey that you won't soon forget. Tara's acknowledgments section is even laced with words of wisdom; a true educator until the end.
It's no coincidence that I read this ARC during poetry appreciation month because I surely did appreciate it. Some of my favorites in the collection are: Hot Combs Catfish Crumbs and Bed Men, Only Read from Exodus, This Woman, To Kanye, For Harriet, That One Time My College Boyfriend Hit Me, My Ex-Husband, The Day of My Divorce and Dinner Prep. I affectionately call my closest girlfriends, "The Tribe", and I will definitely be gifting this to "The Tribe" when it is published.

A beautiful, eye-opening collection of poems on the southern Black woman experience. It’s raw, painful, and powerful, showing strength and resilience in a world where it’s needed most.

(Thank you, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

5 stars

This is a really beautiful, moving collection whose words match the beauty of the cover. Its spans a large subject matter stemming from growing up in the American south including racism, family, love lost, and religion. It certainly is an emotional read. My favorites were Philando, poem at 30, Poem at 35, and To the Cynic; but I didn’t experience a lack luster one in the entire collection.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy for me to share my honest opinions.

This book of poetry celebrates Black Southern womanhood and the magical bonds between sisters, mothers, and daughters. As a Southern Black woman, I deeply connect with this collection. The author's poems are so captivating that you absorb them, carrying fragments with you afterward. Together, these poems evoke emotions, leaving a lingering impression of heartache or reflection.

Genuinely i hope this book becomes controversial so more people start a conversation over what she’s sayin, I Really am happy for an actual poetry book to be released and not some insta poems. The author really speaks her truth and experiences while creating a linear story you can follow all the way thru, idk if that was intentional but the best way to describe it, was that each poem I felt like I was walking through a new part of her life.

Stringfellow's poetry is short, succint and hits the spot. She makes the reader feel the pain and suffering that Black women have endured through the ages. There is a lot of food for thought. The quote, "God can stay asleep/ these women in my life are magic enuff." contains more than a bit of truth. The support system for all women needs to be in place, so women can make it through the tough times.

The acknowledgments at the end of the book are very thought-provoking. I can see this poetry collection being used in a high school or college classroom poetry unit.

I loved Tara M. Stringfellow’s Magic Enuff. It spoke to me, an African-American southerner. I recognized a lot of elements that I could relate to.

My favorite poems were those about the relationship she had with her mama and daddy. It wasn’t perfect, but I felt like she loved them both.

It was a quick, solid 4-star read. My only quibble was a couple of the poems made me uncomfortable, but isn’t that true of a lot of books? Plus I can’t really criticize someone else’s life just because of a couple of experiences I haven’t had. Most of them I recognize.

I didn’t realize how much I like poetry until I read this and another author’s work. Because of Magic Enuff I’ll continue to add poetry to my repertoire.

Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read Magic Enuff by Tara Stringfellow. I have the author's debut, Memphis on my TBR shelf, so was excited for this introduction to her work.
This work of poetry tells a raw depiction of being a Black woman, from relationships to family to interactions from strangers. I enjoyed reading this and am excited to read Memphis next.