Alarie Tennille's Blog: Alarie's Poetry and Point of View - Posts Tagged "autism"

I've reviewed SHE HAS A NAME both on Amazon and in Goodreads, but I wanted to call it out in my blog, too. Poetry rarely finds many readers, and this is a book that needs to be read. It will especially benefit families dealing with autism or other special needs.

Kamilah Aisha Moon writes poignant, accessible, engaging poems no matter what the topic, but SHE HAS A NAME goes way beyond being another collection of good poems. Moon opens the door to her family home and introduces her sister with autism, “1 in 150 now.” She shows how the condition also affects the other sisters, father, mother, teachers, bosses, bullies and, in the end, changes our world.

In our society, it’s taboo to speak of personal heartbreaks. Moon writes, “…I’m from the South, a suburb/where Grief pulls the shades first, stays home if indecent.” Fortunately, she is also a poet and loving sibling who recognizes she must give voice to a sister “with a native tongue of one.” Moon is equally frank in telling of childhood fights (“Her honor saved,/gauze and hydrogen peroxide fizzing/in broken skin.”) and in exposing her adult guilt (“Each visit home frays me,/the price I pay for being able to drive away.”)

Moon never wallows in self-pity. Instead, she invites us to the world family reunion where we each wear a name tag, have a story to tell, and claim each other.