Review on "Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air"
OADNBTAOur Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air is a reminder of the innate beauty of truth and
an elegant display of how the words of poets can unearth feelings we
never knew we had. Reading this work by these six women has been eye
opening for me in a few ways. When I opened this book I knew these women
only as my friends, however, each chapter offers new color to my mental
map of who they are. There are moments in these poems that I was honored
to live through alongside the authors. Seeing these references tucked
into poems and published in a book fills me with giddiness that only a
timeless inside joke can. Some of these poems speak of truths that the
authors might have bravely shared with me in the past. To see these
truths shared, again, written where the world can read them highlights a
courage that deepends the awe of their words. Some of these poems allude
to truths that I was never meant to understand. In that is a reminder
that to befriend someone is not to encompass their full existence,
merely it is to observe the beauty of all of the parts of themselves
that they have shown you and know that there is more beauty still in the
parts you've yet to see.
Through their poems Afeefah, Aleena, Ayse, Maisha, Mariam, and Marwa
have deepened my appreciation for who they are and the worlds they
represent, they have expanded my understanding of women, they have lent
new words to my conception of home, and they have unlocked personal
reflections on who I am. Afeefah's many quotable phrases, Aleena's
variety and vulnerability, Ayse's thought-provoking structuring,
Maisha's splendid adjectives, Mariam's emotionally vivid imagery, and
Marwa's unapologetic da'waa are all just a few of the reasons I enjoyed
reading "Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air". I look forward to
re-reading these poems again and again for years to come. \]
