My Darling from the Lions

by Rachel Long
My Darling from the Lions cover
Good Books rating 4.31
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  • ID: 2293
  • Added: 2025-10-13
  • Updated: 2025-10-13
  • Formats: 1
  • Reviews: 4
Reviews
stanzapoetry.org · Unknown · 2025-10-17
compelling 4.50

My Darling from the Lions is a powerful collection that explores themes of love, loss, and identity with raw honesty. The poems are deeply personal yet universally resonant, making it a compelling read.

My Darling from the Lions is a collection that delves into the complexities of human emotions with a striking blend of vulnerability and strength. The poems are deeply personal, drawing from the author's own experiences, yet they resonate with a universality that makes them accessible to all readers. The language is both lyrical and direct, creating a powerful impact. The themes of love, loss, and identity are explored with raw honesty, making it a compelling and thought-provoking read. The collection is not just a series of poems but a journey that leaves a lasting impression.

Quick quotes

    The poems are deeply personal yet universally resonant.

    The language is both lyrical and direct, creating a powerful impact.

    The collection is not just a series of poems but a journey that leaves a lasting impression.

poetryschool.com · Unknown · 2025-10-17
powerful 4.50

Rachel Long's debut collection, 'My Darling from the Lions,' explores a mixed-race speaker's journey into womanhood through a mix of narrative and surrealist poems. The collection delves into themes of sexuality, family, and race, with the speaker often embodying contradictions and navigating complex emotions. The poems reveal the dehumanizing effects of racism and celebrity culture, while also highlighting the speaker's struggle for self-worth amidst abuse and misogyny.

Rachel Long's debut collection, 'My Darling from the Lions,' is a powerful exploration of a mixed-race speaker's journey into womanhood. The book interweaves accessible narrative poems with surrealist ones, creating a rich tapestry of the speaker's experiences. The collection begins with the poem 'Open,' which appears in five nearly identical versions, each featuring the speaker in dialogue with different interlocutors. This sets the tone for the book, as the speaker often finds herself in an uncomfortable in-between space, trying to interpret her own experiences. The poems delve into themes of sexuality, family, and race, with the speaker embodying contradictions and navigating complex emotions. The collection also reveals the dehumanizing effects of racism and celebrity culture, as seen in poems like 'Interview with B. Tape II' and 'Black Princess! Black Princess!' The speaker's struggle for self-worth amidst abuse and misogyny is a central theme, with complex, imperfect role models like her mother helping to restore her sense of self. The collection leaves the messy muddle of life to those on earth, offering little hope for heavenly intervention.

Quick quotes

    This morning he told me I sleep with my mouth open and my hands in my hair. I say, What, like screaming? He says, No, like abandon.

    Girl, you can be new, surrender it all into one bowl. This, your hollow.

    Firstly, Mum wouldn’t like that I’ve called it her snake. It wasn’t my snake! It was the snake she put on me.

goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-10-17
excellent 4.25

Rachel Long's debut poetry collection, 'My Darling from the Lions,' is praised for its honesty and exploration of themes like Black identity, femininity, and cultural inheritance. The poems are vivid and emotionally insightful, with a mix of humor and urgency. Some readers found the audiobook narration monotonous, but the written collection is highly recommended for its powerful storytelling and skillful use of language.

Rachel Long's 'My Darling from the Lions' is a collection of poems that delves into personal and cultural themes with remarkable honesty. The poems cover a range of topics, including family dynamics, dating, religion, and sexual awakening, all told with emotional insight and political consciousness. The collection is divided into three sections, each offering a different perspective on growing up, falling in love, and navigating girlhood. Long's use of language is both vivid and immediate, making the poems engaging and thought-provoking. While some readers found the audiobook narration lacking in energy, the written collection is widely praised for its skillful storytelling and powerful exploration of identity and culture. The poems are both entertaining and urgent, making this a standout debut.

Quick quotes

    This is a great collection of modern poetry. Honest to a point that I’ve heard it made others uncomfortable.

    This poetry collection was fantastic and I will definitely read whatever the poet publishes next.

    I adored Rachel Long's writing in these poems. She has a remarkable way with words and I really enjoyed reading every single element.

the-tls.com · Unknown · 2020-10-16
compelling 4.00

Rachel Long's debut collection, 'My Darling from the Lions,' explores themes of race, religion, gender, sexuality, and family relationships through a variety of free verse forms. The collection is divided into three sections and offers an intimate look into personal and complex emotions, particularly in relationships.

Rachel Long's 'My Darling from the Lions' is a powerful debut collection that delves into profound themes such as race, religion, gender, sexuality, and family dynamics. The poems are arranged in three sections—'Open,' 'A Lineage of Wigs,' and 'Dolls'—each employing a range of free verse structures. The collection begins with an intimate and deceptively simple poem that sets the tone for the emotional depth and complexity explored throughout. Long's work provides a glimpse into personal and often twisted emotions, particularly within relationships, making it a compelling read. The variety of forms and the raw honesty in her writing make this collection stand out, offering readers a rich and thought-provoking experience.

Quick quotes

    This morning he told me I sleep with my mouth open and my hands in my hair. I say, _What, like screaming?_ He says, _No, like abandon._

    Providing us with an intimate glimpse into the speaker’s private life, Long evokes the twisted texture of emotions that come with a relationship behind closed doors.

    Here, she has opened that door to us with dialogue.

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