“If My Body Could Speak” is a poetry collection by Blythe Baird. The poems are about being a woman in today's society, body image and also the youth -specifically young girls. It focuses on some hard topics such as anorexia, rape, and self-love.

First of all, i was surprised to learn that the author is the same age as me (22)! The subjects of these poems are so mature and heavy that you can feel the exhaustion of the author while reading them. And to learn that these hardships were felt so intensely by such a young person goes to show just how important such literature is.

People tend to avoid certain issues because they are seen as “taboo”. However; the more we don’t talk about them, the more they gain power over the younger generation.

Baird talks about body issues, “fat” being used as a characteristic that defines the person and how this affects them; about rape, the psychology of “victims” and where young girls stand in relation to this issue; and most of all, about being a girl in today’s world.

It is mostly written with a slam-poetry technique and sometimes it felt short for me. There were times that the narrative got monotonous and the style felt a bit callow. But overall, the emotions prevailed.

It is brutally honest and sometimes hard to read; but still a necessary literature in my opinion.

Once again I'm a bit contradicted because of modern poetry. In general, I tend to like a bit more old-fashioned poems (I mean in style, like rhymes and verses, not in theme/topics!) at first I thought that this would be the case with this collection, too, but all in all I have to say that it convinced me by the end. These poems are powerful and they all made me feel something. I could relate to so many things mentioned in them, and I love that the poet says what's on her mind and heart. I could feel for her. I think these poems are ones that very young people can understand and relate to, but the poet also shows a more mature side of thinking - because of the topics and life stage I knew she must be young, but I was actually surprised to find out how young she is. I'll be on the look for more work of hers!

This book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Button Poetry and Netgalley!

"Silly girl. She thinks this is what she wants,
but she does not understand how it will hurt."

If My Body Could Speak is a poetry collection about love, LGBT+, loss, rape and eating disorders. If My Body Could Speak is the first book I read by Blythe Baird and I loved it!

"Looking back, I wonder why survival
was my entertainment of choice."

If My Body Could Speak was such a beautiful and honest collection. I could relate to so many poems and a lot of them had a big impact on me. For example, I’ve never had an eating disorder but I often struggle (d) with food and some of these poems were really relatable and I could really get what Blythe Baird was talking about.

"She would rather take a photo
of me wincing with a boy
than smiling with a girl."

Favourite poems:
Before the Starving
Dress Code
Girl Code 101
Blood-rose
Pocket-sized Feminism
I Don’t Have to Forgive You
The Ghost Who Stars in My Poetry
Class Clown
Too Pissed to Be Sad Anymore
The Way I Was Taught to Love
The Kindest Thing she Almost Did
Smoke
Lipstick
For The Rapists who Called Themselves Feminists
Balancing
The Aesthetic of Rape Culture
To Live in the Body of A Survivor
Relapse
Horoscopes for Self-Doubt

Well, what to say.

I always want to give modern poetry a chance... Unfortunately, it keeps disappointing me. It does not seem or feel like poetry to me.

But when I saw this one I wanted to give it a chance.

The first several poems were good. They did not feel like poems to me. But I enjoyed reading them.

And the comment where the author talks about the feel of water in the empty stomach, I could so much relate, and I could remember the feeling. I expected that the majority of the poems would be about eating disorders. However, only a few were about it. The majority was about being harassed (even raped), bullied and shamed for being a woman. And I must say that the American Dress Code in School seems utterly ridiculous to me. The idea that I would have to kneel down and the principal would measure the hemline? I cannot fathom who thought this is okay.
But overall, I did not like this book of poetry and I had a hard time to finish. Not because of the topic but because it did not create a feeling of understanding.

An up-front, but still quite pretty, collection of poetry confronting eating disorders, sexuality, and rape and rape culture. I really liked the different formats that Blythe Baird used and I thought her poems were very moving.

This collection of poems is astonishing. I'm a fan of Button Poetry in general, but this collection just floored me. If you have dealt with rape, trauma, and/or its aftermath, these poems will speak to you. I related more to Blythe Baird than I have almost any other author out there. She's brave and talented and you should definitely read this book.

I absolutely adore Blythe Baird—she can do no wrong in my eyes. I'd heard some of these poems before, but still loved every single one of them.

If My Body Could Speak is a collection that dives deep into the topics of relationships (both toxic and not), feminism, eating disorders, assault, and the relationship of victim/survivor to an individual's traumatic experiences, which could be triggers to someone who has been through the same experiences.

The collection has many poems that have appeared in other places, so some readers may be familiar with a few of these pieces. Each piece works to speak in simple language, but that doesn't mean that it skimps on turns of phrase that you need to stop and appreciate. I think that many people would find this collection relatable, specifically because no matter what someone has been through, there is no clear happy ending in sight, and this collection doesn't end on one of those either.

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!! I have listened to some of Blythe Baird's poems on Button Poetry and was excited to get the chance to read her book.

Poems I loved:
DRESS CODE
HIGH SCHOOL
TOO PISSED TO BE SAD ANYMORE
SMOKE
AN INVITATION
LIPSTICK
FOR THE RAPISTS WHO CALLED THEMSELVES FEMINISTS
TO LIVE IN THE BODY OF A SURVIVOR
PRUNING INTO ART

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great poetry book. A lot of trigger warnings about eating disorders. The author came off very truthful and genuine. Some the poems really resonated within me. She showed her struggle of the male and female dynamic when she was young. Would definitely recommend.

I am no longer a person, I am just the throbbing open wound this book has left in its wake.

I think that is why I always find myself falling into poetry, to feel un-alone in the most meaningful way.

Blythe Baird lays it all out, and refuses to make apologies for writing about her trauma.
This one of the rawest collections I have ever experienced.

Yet another amazing collection that Button Poetry has put out. I bought a copy knowing only that I have yet to be disappointed by the publisher’s previous titles. Now, having read Baird’s poems, I can say that I was blown away and wish I had more from the poet to read.

The poems are filled with honesty and beauty, all while not shying away from heavy subject matter. Baird could easily be my new favorite poet. I’ll be keeping on eye out for anything new from now on!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read Blythe’s wonderful collection of poetry. Now, I have never suffered with anorexia, but I have suffered the bullying that comes from looking the way I am. I have suffered from the pressures of society to look a certain way and to behave a certain way in order to be deemed ‘acceptable’. Quite frankly, I think I am far too much for our society to deal with. Although I have said that I have never suffered with anorexia, this poetry anthology has made me feel and has granted me this connection to the survivors and to those who are currently experiencing it due to the writing being so personal.

This isn’t my first Blythe rodeo, I once discovered her on YouTube when she was performing her poetry on ButtonPoetry, how raw and how real her voice is, so when the chance to read this collection of poetry, I jumped and grabbed hold of it. It was absolutely wonderful to read her other poems, and to revisit a few of the ones I have seen her perform, because regardless of how many times you read a poem, I feel the subject and themes change dramatically in different points of your life.

Wow.  There was something calling out to me about this book, and I'm glad I listened.  This is one of the most powerful compilations of poetry I've read in a good long time.  Baird discusses, rape, sexuality, eating disorders, make-up, growing up a woman, and love.  My personal favorites in this collection include "The Kindest Thing She Almost Did", "The Lesbian Reevaluates", and "Horoscopes for Self-Doubt".  These and the other poems are just so articulate and beautiful.  They're truly poems to behold.  I cannot wait to purchase this book--be sure that you do!

Wow! This collection of poems really captured what it is like to be a woman! I couldn't believe how much I related to several of them. Highly recommend!

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.

A lot of poetry books lately have really let me down. They can be really difficult to get through and some of them, even, annoying.

This one tho...ohhhhman this one.

This book was so impactful and moving I actually teared up. The authors poems about her eating disorder and body completely killed me. I've also suffered with these problems and to hear someone speak what I feel really brought it home for me.

She touches on a lot of other issues and all of them were so hard to probably write about. I hope this book gets the praise and acknowledgement it deserves. It should surpass so many of today's popular poetry books.

Adored.

Recommend.

Beautiful and poignant. Very thought provoking poetry. The only negative I can see is the length. Its too long and has way too many poems also most of the poems are really lengthy.

I loved this! Poetry is not my thing but I really want to give it a shot and start reading more of it. This collection of peoms were so powerful and hardhitting and although there were some I didn't understand/connect to I had a great time reading them and I'm definitely interested in reading more.
TW: rape, eating disorder.

Blythe Baird's first full-length poetry collection hurts. As the collection develops, we witness Baird grappling with her place in high school, experimenting, finding her identity, struggling with her parents, and, finally, being the victim of sexual violence that changes the collection. The poems develop formally, tonally, and the reader can follow their progression through elementary and high school and the author's changing sexuality. Trauma changes everything. This reviewer liked how the collection was in conversation with itself. As Baird performed these poems, and then her performance of them became part of her identity and healing. The poems in this collection engage themes of adolescence, identity, family, sexuality, violence, trauma, relationships, sex, experimentation, and meaning. The collection isn't "happy" and while the author seems to have reached some sort of healing she doesn't present herself as healed/fixed. How could she? This structure of the collection influenced the tenor of this review, and rightly so. The trauma isn't graphic but obviously it doesn't have to be to be real. The reader should be warned about this but by no means discouraged from reading this tightly crafted, engaging, and lucid collection of poems.


Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this book.. I thank Button Poetry for continuing to publish incredible books. I thank Ms. Baird for sharing her strong poems and her story with us.

I absolutely loved this book, I found myself highlighting specific quotes/sections a lot while I was reading it, and sharing these quotes to Goodreads/twitter/facebook. Although Blythe Baird is definitely someone you should spend the time watching/listening to on youtube or spotify, her voice is captured well in the printed version of her poems.