Content Warning

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Content Warning by Akwaeke Emezi, read by Ben Arogundade.

A triumph ... A wholly original and creative mind' NEW YORK TIMES
‘A multi-genre phenomena, it’s a triumph of a creative mind’ GLAMOUR
‘Frightens and astonishes ... Combines Maya Angelou’s passion and Sylvia Plath’s devastating self-inquisition' GUARDIAN
‘Emezi is a dream of a writer’ BOLU BABALOLA

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A fiercely contemporary collection which renegotiates the contract between poet and reader in the light of this moment in human history, from the bestselling author of The Death of Vivek Oji

Content Warning: Everything concerns itself with the fugitive nature of being in the world especially, but not exclusively, within blackness. The poems reshape possibilities for poetry by paying close attention to the author's rhythm of thought, making a series of durable anthems from the noise of the contemporary moment.

In this bold debut poetry collection, Akwaeke Emezi – award-winning author of Freshwater, PET, The Death of Vivek Oji and Dear Senthuran – imagines a new depth of belonging. Crafted of both divine and earthly materials, these poems travel from home to homesickness, tracing desire to surrender and abuse to survival, while mapping out a chosen family that includes the son of god, mary auntie, and magdalene with the chestnut eyes.

Written from a spiritfirst perspective and celebrating the essence of self that is impossible to drown, kill, or reduce, Content Warning: Everything distills the radiant power and epic grief of a mischievous and wanting young deity, embodied.

Critics Review

Emezi has combined Maya Angelou’s passion and Sylvia Plath’s devastating self-inquisition to create an edgy music that frightens and astonishes
GUARDIAN
A powerful debut poetry collection
FINANCIAL TIMES, Best summer books of 2023
A multi-genre pheonomena, it’s a triumph of a creative mind
GLAMOUR
Emezi’s work is deeply magical, it is stunningly selective, making you feel so much with so little
SNACK MAGAZINE
A triumph of selfhood that painstakingly journeys between belief and becoming. Holding tenderness and rage in one breath, the Nigerian-born nonbinary author excavates trauma, divorce and loss without restraint ... Illuminates a complicated past, expels antiquated what-ifs and allows readers to share in the possibilities underscored by a wholly original and creative mind
NEW YORK TIMES
A bold debut collection delving into Blackness, trauma, sexuality and the divine from the author of The Death of Vivek Oji
GUARDIAN, Best books of 2023
A puzzle wrapped in beautiful language, raising questions of identity and loyalty that are as unanswerable as they are important
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
In their poetry debut, Content Warning: Everything eye-catching novelist Akwaeke Emezi envisions a self that can’t be bent or brokeN
LIBRARY JOURNAL
From searing inquisitions of the nature of guilt and sin to radical reimaginings of biblical figures, Emezi operates with the ease of a seasoned poet throughout this visionary book
BOOKPAGE
Incomparable ... Emezi's lyrics radiate raw vulnerability in their exploration of themes of abuse, trauma, mental wellness, and sexuality
BOOKLIST
Emezi returns with a poetry collection that sounds electrifying. Emezi is one of our favourite writers today and we are lucky enough to get blessed with a poetry collection from them
SHEREADS
Swinging from home to homesickness, abuse to survival, grief to rage, and desire to surrender, the poems exemplify the stark power of Emezi’s writing
AUTOSTRADDLE
Dazzling ... Akwaeke Emezi continues to astound with their prolific multi-genre, multidisciplinary work
SHONDALAND
Each poem is stunning, and often feels uproarious immediately upon its completion, demanding another read, another look, a step or two back or to the side, to second guess, question, and feel
NORTH OF OXFORD
I’m excited to read more poems like this - pushing at the boundaries and drawing their content into wilder forms.
POETRY FOUNDATION
Spirit, source and sanctuary
MS MAGAZINE, Poetry for the rest of us 2022
Emezi is an award-winning author making a big splash in poetry with this collection. Leading with the spirit, these poems celebrate the parts of ourselves that we cannot kill or reduce. Surrender, abuse, survival, and homesickness are all themes in play in these poems that really do need every content warning imaginable
BOOKRIOT

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