A Recipe for Sorcery

by Vanessa Kisuule

Vanessa Kisuule's second release is a poetry collection with a difference: it is a cathartic explosion, an unspooling of long harboured fears and resentment and a delving into ugly and uncomfortable truths. It is a recipe for womanhood that changes with the whim of the seasons and the political climate. It is a feverish fistful of musings, a comedy of errors, an instruction manual, a compass, an overheard conversation in the ladies' loo, whispered secrets over a (second) bottle of wine. It is a lamentation, an homage to fellow women, at once a celebration of things to come and a mourning of things lost. It is a redefinition of what it is to be magical and otherwordly. It exposes the complex and contradictory impulses of the human spirit, the ugly tangle of emotions we must deal with in ourselves and also as a wider society. With frankness, humour and a decided fuck-you to fear, Vanessa digs deeper than she ever has to find something resembling sorcery.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2017

Reviews

[Liquidwitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the writer perform one poem at a slam poetry event, immediately booked tickets to the next performance of hers I could find, came out of that and immediately ordered this book. I prefer listening to her than reading her I think, but these are still funny and angry and tangibly alive 🔥

[Polly Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanessa’s poems are pin-sharp, clever and totally absorbing. The lack of capital letters reminds me of e.e. cummings. My favourites are:

take up space
a recipe for retreat
a moment of silence

Wholly recommended.

[lucy 🌀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuck between 3.5 and 4 stars for this one!!

[Angharad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The highlight of this for me was 'Last Night' - loved experiencing a club night unfold through a poem.

[Kate -MontglaneChess · Rating 4 out of 5]

my surprise favorite was "lumidee". "take up space" is simple in message and an absolute delight in execution.

"method" on pg. 28 has a punch where the bit of raw I feel when someone told me not to swear when I was angry about girls getting raped leaped out with the line "like they have no grasp of elementary chemistry".

"roasted vegetables" reminds me of my father, who's pies and sauces I never get quite right.

and the last three lines in "an introduction to sorcery" are visercal.

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I LOVED this. Vanessa Kisuule's writing is so brilliant and vibrant, it fizzes off the page. Really great reflections on identity and Getting Through This Thing We Call Life. Whore and Annual Strip Club Massacre were probably my favourites. An excellent collection. (also, and this is a completely irrelevant and inappropriate detail to include in a book review, it's printed on lovely paper, feels like silk in your hands)

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic read featuring my all time favourite poem How To Raise A Man. Kisuule's voice as a writer is so witty and distinctive that every word she touches takes on a new and vibrant life. The whole collection flows and pulses with an infectious rhythm, covering topics from colonialism and experiences of black women to girls' nights out and sex. I thoroughly recommend this book and I've read it twice in its entirety and dipped into some specific poems when I felt I needed them most.

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanessa’s writing always manages to take my breath away, transport me far from where I am reading and she describes familiar and unfamiliar experiences in such a visceral way, I feel like I’m there. 

[Liz Moffat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of poetry I would really like to hear performed. My favourites are things I cannot promise you and how to raise a man.

[Sarah Vernall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evocative and honest cookbook of feelings. Read in one sitting with a wry chuckle caught between my teeth and a poignant sting in the corners of my eyes.

[Moira McPartlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concept of recipes. I'd love to see this poet perform live. I really connected with her words, her energy.

[Aysha Haddington-Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely read poetry but I’m so glad I read this thanks to a recommendation from a friend.
This was glorious.
Vanessa is so clever and witty.
Black + brown girls everywhere have to read this! It touched my soul 🥰✨

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did love a lot of the poems, but I'm giving it a "meh" for the attempt at an ~~~edgy~~~~ ~~~subversive~~~~~ introductory lines that shite all over people with eating disorders. Cool.

[Pernille · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Day 13 of the Sealey Challenge. A re-read after getting this in 2020. I enjoyed it more the second time around.

[Hannah Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and funny book of poems.

[Evangeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A loved everything about this collection. Vanessa writes with such power, her words just jump of the page and grab you, very real and raw. My favourite poems are:
- take up space
- annual strip club massacre
- things I cannot promise you
- mantra

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great poetry collection!!