I have a new-found appreciation for short stories and non-fiction essays in collections like this.
All the money for this book also goes to the Women for Women International charity which is a charity set up to help women in warzones.

This book has contributions from many Feminist writers some I'd heard of and some I had not. Some of the writers include: Laura Bates, Layla Saad, Lisa Taddeo, Kate Moss, Fatima Bhutto, Rosanna Amaka, Geok-lin Lim and Yomi Adegoke.

The various contributions come in different forms from essays, poetry, interviews, short stories and more. So something to please everyone, but predominantly it's a non-fiction piece.

Some of the contributions centre more specifically on the impact of the pandemic, other writers focus on things they've come to realise through lockdown or how lockdown has only highlighted previous inequalities even more.

It's a brilliantly diverse collection of feminist writers and includes black, queer, disabled, non-binary, transgender and latinx writers. There were some contributions which I found stronger than others, however, this book spoke of challenge, of calling out, of being an ally, of thinking about our own actions and words and gave me a lot to think about.

"regret is an overused
term and love a mis-
used one. she
used it to mean jumping
in front of flying bullets and
he used it to fuck her."

"


[re:desire] by afshan d'souza lodhi is a poetry collection inspired by different languages and cultures - Urdu, English, Konkani, and Islam and Christian traditions.

It draws upon the literary traditions and cultural references of mushairas which are typically from the male gaze and flips this on its head by focusing on the pieces being told from the female perspective. The common theme of mushairas are love, God and being drunk or intoxicated by love and God.

Afshan explores sexuality, gender, identity. Some of the poems are quite raw and I really liked them and others the meaning perhaps eluded me but I'll definitely return to ponder them.

It is noted by the author that this type of poetry (mushairas - being social gatherings where Urdu poetry is performed) is most commonly performed and read aloud and I definitely feel this would provide a stronger vibe to the whole collection.

It felt quite edgy and clever and overall I enjoyed sitting and reading these poems over several days and I'm really enjoying my branching out into the poetry genre in general.

How do you feel about love stories?

Who's Loving You: Love Stories by Women of Colour Ed. by Sareeta Domingo

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"However - and this should be obvious, but - human beings of all kinds fall in love, and have desire, and heartache, and heartbreak. It's vital that we get to see one another in this sometimes fire-hot, sometimes soul-warming, sometimes icily-devastating light. It is vital that we see ourselves portrayed in this way. Seeing love of all kinds represented fully, in art as in life, allows us to relate on a level that can be dangerous when lacking."

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Sareeta Domingo has brought together a beautiful collection of short stories written by a variety of women of colour. The collection started out a little rocky for me, but I absolutely devoured this collection of love stories. It by no means represents every woman of colour or every background but it is a wonderful collection.

What it does do is bring us heartwarming and emotional stories of love, loss, and family. The stories really varied in style and content from everyday romances, to workplace romance, to stories with science-fiction elements. We have stories set in Liverpool, Brighton, Tehran, London and more. The collection brings to life a rich array of character and nearly all of them captured my heart.

For such short stories we got some really poignant and emotional experiences and I would absolutely adore if some of these works became longer books on their own.

Some personal favourites were 'Long Distance' by Varaidzo, 'Brief Encounters' by Sara Collins, 'Rani' by Amna Saleem and 'Motherland' by Sara Jarafari.

Other contributors to the collection included: Kelechi Okafor, Sareeta Domingo, Kuchenga, Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Daniellé DASH and Dorothy Koomson.

Overall a beautiful collection of love stories that I absolutely adored. This made me feel warm and happy inside whilst reading and I definitely want to read more by all of the women who contributed to this collection as there was so much to offer!

Dating & Other Hobbies is a collection of female-centred poetry and short stories that focus on love and lust, dating in the digital age and more. This collection is funny and raw and many elements I related to as a millennial, given the focus on millenial culture.

The poems are witty and punchy and I liked the rhythm. I really felt like it was easy to get the meaning of this poetry, probably because of the focus on millenial culture. There was a real range of themes in here from online dating, to one-night stands, toxic masculinity, patriarchy, social media pressures, self-image pressures, love, lust and more. I enjoyed the fluid approach to sexuality and the openness about sex and relationships.

The short stories were equally enjoyable and along similiar lines to the poems and they all interwined nicely. The collection is split into four chapters: digital, casual, wanting and missing and I will enjoyed the focus of each poem around the themes.

Some of my favourite poems from the collection were 'Mistakes of a Twenty-something Millenial', Circle of Shame', 'Cereal Dater' and 'Some Girls' and the short story 'Water Sign'.

I certainly don't think this is a book for everybody, but I think it will particularly resonate with a lot of British millenials and those that enjoy a critique of all the messy elements of dating. I absolutely devoured the collection. One of my favourite poetry collections to date for sure!