Unlike a lot of popular contemporary poetry collections, I was not fed deliberately vague lines and generic content with gaps I could fill in with my own stories; instead, I was gifted with the unadulterated thoughts, feelings, and haunting realities experienced by the author. It was like being invited to see the world and everything in it from the poet’s perspective. More than that, it was like being entrusted with the full weight of someone else’s truth. The poet does not provoke her readers to personally relate to her experiences; but rather, she compels the audience to empathize with her, and on a larger scale, with people who share the same marginalized identities and endure the same injustices. In that empathy, there lies a deeper, more nuanced sense of compassion.

What makes this one wonderfully different from most contemporary poetry collections is that nothing about its content is vague. Sisters’ Entrance offers a strong feminine voice that not only speaks loudly and clearly, but also, and perhaps more fundamentally, resonates with readers, whether they can personally relate to the experiences or not. Emitithal is an immensely talented storyteller, and in this book, she invites readers into the nooks and crannies of the reality she has to face and oftentimes endure.

Sisters’ Entrance is arguably one of the most important and most hauntingly evocative books I have ever read. Emtithal Mahmoud writes brilliantly, but more significantly, she writes with defiant purpose, inspiring bravery, and empowering honesty. Her work sheds light on socially relevant issues such as genocide, survivor’s guilt, gender-based power dynamics, and discrimination (i.e. racism, Islamophobia), and ultimately, speaks of the brutal realities faced by women of color in contemporary society. The personal impact of this poetry collection on me as a woman of color is unparalleled, and I cannot recommend Sisters’ Entrance enough times!

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Sisters’ Entrance from the publishers (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publishers for the opportunity!

Actual rating: 5 stars
* Read the rest of this review in my natural habitat!