Destiny O. Birdsong

Read as an ARC received as a benefit from a Patreon contributor.

In her book, Destinations, poet Destiny O. Birdsong gathered a large collection of her writing that both captures and inflicts pain. Birdsong's voice tells readers of the pain of living as a second class citizen in America which tries so hard to deny its racism, sexism, and homophobia Her poems go beyond expressing pain, they express anguish and deep wounds which can heal only as scars. It is clear in her poetry that we are getting a glimpse of her soul, of her inner being, of the forces within her that govern how she lives her life.
Her pain is not hers alone, however; it is the pain of all marginalized people. It is also pain that is greatly magnified when the margins apply simultaneously to race and gender and sexuality, all of which apply to Birdsong. For her, the pain and feeling of exclusion are quite frequently become expressed as anger in these poems, just as it does in the everyday world. One of those angry poems, "Elegy for the Man on Highway 52," seemed more than angry, it seemed violent. Yet, in her soul, Birdsong also holds values that hold hope as in the poem "i too sing america."
i too sing america
but mostly//when its convenient
when i am abroad// i fucking love
the constitution//the gall of the forefathers....."
The hope is there, but is difficult to retrieve for her, "...mostly//whenits convenient when i am abroad...."
But while hope and belief do reside in the poet, they do are not the guiding factor of the book. Pain amd anger dominate the work.
The tone of the book seemed to lighten-up in its latter pages, but never do we get lyrical, happy, love-filled poetry, poetry that will make a reader's heart sing or make him want to quote the poems.
The book's title, Negotiations, properly defines the thrust of the book, however, in that so much that Birdsong writes about is about accommodation, compromise, and even surrender. It is perhaps best summarized in her poem "My rapist once said he didn't need anything from me;" (punctuation, grammar, lack of capital letters in the title all taken from the poem as it is written).
In this collection, the poem "the way i listen to you read poems." also summarizes much of the rest of the book's content. This poem is the one I found the most interesting in the entire collection.
For a Black, female, lesbian writer, there is much pain to discuss, many hurts to get over, many hopes that will go unrealized, yet a book that provides such a drumbeat of anguish, pain, and anger is a challenging work to read.… (mehr)

Nobody’s Magic by Destiny O. Birdsong is a 2022 Grand Central Publication.

This book is a trilogy of stories centered around three black women born with albinism.

The first story features Suzette, a young woman of some privilege whose parents are alternately overprotective, manipulative, and controlling.

Suzette is now in her early twenties, but has never learned to drive, has never held a job or seriously considered her future. But she’s becoming restless, ready to break free from her parent’s restraints and live a normal life.

The second story involves Maple who is reeling from the aftermath of her mother’s murder. She leaves her grandmother’s home, finds a part-time job and a place to stay, then meets Chad, a man struggling with his own tremendous loss. Through the sharing of his grief and pain, Maple is able to come to terms with her own.

The third story is centered around Agnes, who appears to live in the shadow of her sister and harbors intense resentment towards her family. She’s struggled to find her niche, barely scraping by- but then she meets ‘Prime’ who could be the person she’s been longing to find. But she does something that propels her to finally return home to confront the family she’s avoided for so long.

All three stories are set in the deep south along the ARK/TX/LA area- primarily in Shreveport, Louisiana-which is key is setting the stage and creating the atmosphere and undertones.

Of the three stories, the second one is the strongest and Maple was the character I was most connected to. The third story is the weakest and felt out of place compared to the first two.

Overall, I rarely read short stories- but this was a well-written collection, despite some unnecessary content and inconsistencies, and touches on a variety of topics and emotions. It was an enlightening change of pace for me, and I will certainly be keeping an eye on this author.… (mehr)