Review: Christy Birmingham’s Poetry Collection “Versions of The Self”

 

Versions of the Self

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THE POETRY COLLECTION AS DESCRIBED BY CHRISTY 

Imagine a shift to the way you see the world that arises through poetic narration. Imagine the world, at its base level, is a collection of selves. These selves collide, disperse, intermingle, and share themselves in lines of free verse. Such is the premise of Versions of the Self, poetry that assumes multiple types of selves exist and relate in ways that alter them. Each of the eight chapters looks at a different type of self, including the singular “I” and romantic interactions. These unique 80 poems definitely color themselves outside of the lines.

MY REVIEW

Christy Birmingham has written her poetry collection Versions of The Self from the first-person viewpoint because it’s about her personal journey. At first I found the constant use of the word “I” off-putting, but my initial reaction fast metamorphosed into feeling privileged, as a reader, to share in Christy’s honest account of putting herself back together, having had a relationship with someone who did his best to destroy her.

She tells of her deep love for this man and his gradual undermining of her confidence through mind-games and abuse, before leaving her for another woman. The form of manipulation she describes him inflicting upon her, is an archetypical use of what psychologists call “gaslighting”, in which the perpetrator’s tactics of manipulation ultimately cause the victim to no longer trust her own judgment. In fact, Christy does have a BA in Psychology and it’s possible that her area of study has retrospectively contributed towards her ability to express in words her traumatic experience.

What follows is an account of a woman lying in fragments, who must somehow learn to see herself as a whole person again and think herself worthy of love, or able to trust another to give of her love to him. It makes incredibly emotive reading, as she makes a detailed examination of the fragments, draws them together, starts to trust her own judgment, and rediscovers joy. It’s a redefining of her as a person, as she comes to accept that she cannot undo her experiences or lose the memory of them, but she can learn to move on beyond them and be a valid human being, with so much to give to the world. In fact, what I loved about Christy’s account was that not for a moment did she wallow in self-pity. Often, I wanted to give her a big hug and say “you are so, so brave. Go for it, gal!”

This poetry collection makes such an emotive read and would speak volumes to people who have or still are experiencing what Christy describes. I loved the way the writing flowed along in free verse with such forward momentum, occasionally pausing on its journey for detailed contemplation of a tiny detail. Christy has such a unique way of organising words and a fresh way of describing exactly what she means, but from a lateral slant.

A highly recommended read.

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Connect with Christy at her wonderful blog Poetic Parfait.

And on social media…

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Versions of The Self (kindle & paperback) is available at
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
Plus other Amazon stores

 

Author: Sarah Potter Writes

Sarah is a British eccentric who writes offbeat fiction, haiku and tanka poetry. When stuck for words, she sketches or paints instead. She's into nature conservation, sustainability, gardening, dogs, natural health, and reading. Her sociability is something that happens in short bursts with long breathing spaces in between.

33 thoughts on “Review: Christy Birmingham’s Poetry Collection “Versions of The Self””

    1. I agree that Christy is a wonderful person. And thank you for your good wishes re my writing in 2017. I feel the need to start a brand new project, before the slog of marketing kills off my creative muse totally. I hope you have a wonderful writing year, too.

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    1. Wonderful. I love seeing people smiling wide. As far as 2017 being an amazing year, I think we all need that. The world this year has felt rather iffy and turbulent. It has made me want to hibernate. What’s important is to create little pockets of creativity and love around the globe and work towards a better future. Wishing you lots of wonderful things, Christy, for the coming year 🙂 xox

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  4. Pingback: Review: Christy Birmingham’s Poetry Collection “Versions of The Self” – Inspire For A Better Life

  5. Sarah, you gave a beautiful review of Christy’s poetry book. I appreciate that you had to adjust to reading her first person account set into poetry form. It would mean a lot to someone who has gone through the similar emotional path, which Christy shared.

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    1. Thank you, Robin. What better for a victim of ongoing abuse than to hear from a survivor? Especially a survivor who has pieced herself back together and has found so much worth living for.

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    1. Thank you, Resa. Kindle is great for checking out new authors, before committing to buying a paperback. Christy’s poetry should certainly take honour of place on what I call a “real” bookshelf (though some eBook fans will slay me for saying this!). Christy’s poetry is so multi-layered and deep that it’s worthy of re-reading time and time again.

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  10. This is a great review. As I commented on Christy’s site, I have never reviewed a book of poetry, but her book sounds wonderful. I’d love to press this post, and publish it on my site, http://marshajustwrites.com/ with your permission. I do a little intro to you and your blog as well as one of Christy’s.

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  13. A wonderful review and one that certainly inspires me to read Christy’s book. Christy is a lovely person, and a warm-hearted and generous blogger. She deserves every success with her heartfelt book. Thank you, Sarah for the great review.

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  15. I am close to tears, happy tears, as I read all of these comments. Thank you everyone, for the support and love that really helps me keep moving forward. Sarah, you hold a special place in my heart xx

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    1. Dearest Christy, I can see the sea level rising with your happy tears 😉 You’re very sweet. I’m so glad that you have so many wonderful, well-deserved comments from people. Love and support is so important when it comes to keeping moving forward xx

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