Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
If They Come for Us
If They Come for Us: Poems | Fatimah Asghar
55 posts | 64 read | 81 to read
Poet and co-creator of the Emmy-nominated web series Brown Girls captures her experience as a Pakistani Muslim woman in contemporary America, while exploring identity, violence, and healing. an aunt teaches me how to tell an edible flower from a poisonous one. just in case, I hear her say, just in case. This imaginative, soulful debut poetry collection captures the experiences of being a young Pakistani Muslim woman in contemporary America. Orphaned as a girl, Fatimah Asghar grapples with coming of age and navigating questions of sexuality and race without the guidance of a mother or father. These poems at once bear anguish, joy, vulnerability, and compassion, while exploring the many facets of violence: how it persists within us, how it is inherited across generations, and how it manifests itself in our relationships. In experimental forms and language both lyrical and raw, Asghar seamlessly braids together marginalized peoples histories with her own understanding of identity, place, and belonging.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
literarymermaid
post image
Pickpick

Captivating

I learned so much from this collection.

review
AbstractMonica
Pickpick

Loved this collection of poems.

6 likes1 stack add
review
Linsy
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image
Pickpick

Grandma took the kids so I could watch the author of this amazing collection, Fatimah Asghar, do a reading. I got to read and watch with my Thanksgiving leftovers and pomegranate soda; it was so lovely and relaxing!!

And this collection truly is so amazing and powerful. Highly recommend!!!

76 likes2 stack adds
quote
charl08
post image

....you speak a language until you don't. until you only recognize it between your auntie's lips. your father was fluent in four languages. you're illiterate in the tongues of your father. your grandfather wrote persian poetry on glasses. maybe. you can't remember. you made it up. someone lied. you're a daughter until they bury your mother. until you're not invited to your father's funeral.

64 likes2 stack adds
quote
GondorGirl
post image

This #poetry collection is destroying me.

28 likes1 stack add
review
Amandakay
post image
Pickpick

❤️

review
MidnightBookGirl
post image
Pickpick

This is the hardest prompt of my #ReadYourSign challenge that I did- reading the majority of a book after 10pm. I used to be a night owl, but now I'm usually in bed by then. A book of poetry, that was also on my TBR pile, proved just the thing to keep me awake and reading. This collection of poems is raw and powerful, gorgeous and brutal, and some of these words will echo in my soul for years to come.
@Clwojick @Meaw_Catlady

blurb
madams421
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image

One of my favorite dedication pages - so much of my tried and true family is not related to me, and I feel so incredibly grateful to be loved so deeply outside of those biological boundaries. Looking forward to extending my bookloving family by getting to know you all. ❤️ #bookfam @Hestapleton

Hestapleton ❤️❤️ 4y
19 likes1 comment
review
sillysoph
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image
Pickpick

Great perspective.

8 likes1 stack add
blurb
KathyWheeler
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image

Went to Barnes & Noble tonight because I finally felt well enough to leave the house. I bought this book of poetry, and on the way out saw The Ultimate Guide to Supernatural, which is an updated version of the previous one I have and covers all 15 seasons. Of course I had to buy it. 😊

review
BarbaraJean
post image
Pickpick

This is a hard one for me to review. It‘s a powerful, difficult, innovative collection of poetry, and I had to keep Google handy to look up terms and events I was unfamiliar with. I feel like I don‘t have the context/knowledge to understand the backdrop to so many of these poems, but they also pushed me to seek out more background as I was reading. I‘m glad I read it.

43 likes1 stack add
quote
BarbaraJean
post image

Microaggression Bingo:

🔲 “But you are lucky you have something exotic to write about!”
🔲 Editor recommends you add more white people to your story to be more relatable
🔲 “Oh, but you don‘t *really* seem Muslim.”
🔲 “You‘re from Kashmir? I have a from there!”
🔲 Casting call to audition for Battered Hijabi Woman # 42

review
readordierachel
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image
Pickpick

Loved this collection of poems. Some of the experimental forms worked better than others, but overall this was outstanding. Moving, vibrant, confident. Will definitely revisit.

ReadingRachael I enjoyed this collection too 4y
charl08 I love this cover. Really striking. 4y
Cathythoughts Great cover 👍🏻❤️ 4y
See All 8 Comments
erzascarletbookgasm Love the cover! 4y
readordierachel @ReadingRachael It's a good one. I hope she puts out more. 4y
Tanisha_A I really want to read this. Also, hi! It's been a while. ❤️ 4y
readordierachel @Tanisha_A Hey, friend! Hope you've been well ❤ 4y
65 likes4 stack adds8 comments
blurb
readordierachel
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image

#7days7covers #covercrush Day 2

7 days, 7 covers, no explanation.
@vivastory

batsy 💜 5y
vivastory I haven't seen this one before. Fantastic selection! 5y
Centique That is gorgeous! 5y
See All 6 Comments
BiblioLitten Oh I love it!! 💕💙💕 5y
74 likes6 comments
review
AlizaApp
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image
Pickpick

Really loved this powerful book of poetry. Feminist in a pull-no-punches way, intersectional without shoving it down your throat. Made me think about legacies both small and culturally.

quote
AlizaApp
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image

Powerful book of poetry on belonging and identity and family and loss. I thought the poems about partition (between India/Pakistan/Bangladesh) in the ‘40s were especially moving.

27 likes1 stack add
review
Angitron
If They Come For Us | Fatimah Asghar
post image
Pickpick

Gorgeous poetry! Love, loss, family, friendship...Asghar is able to capture so much in so few words. I also learned a little about The Partition of India (1947), into India and Pakistan, and how this sudden split sowed chaos and ripped families, cultures and lives apart. An estimated 14 million people were displaced. I felt ashamed that I knew nothing about this part of history and am grateful to Asghar and others who do the labor of teaching.

24 likes3 stack adds
review
overtheedge
post image
Pickpick

If They Come For Us
by Fatimah Asghar
2018
One World
4.5 / 5.0

Emotionally deep and moving, the poem collected here are very powerful, about identity, sexuality, race and growing up a Pakistani Muslim in America.
The beauty of her words, the rawness of her emotions, Asghar is a truly brilliant mind and a beautiful poet.
Wonderful....Recommended.

blurb
gingerandjazz
post image
review
Misanthropester
post image
Pickpick

This was the best #poetry collection of 2018 in my judgment. Here‘s a short review I wrote for the Seattle Book Review that was recently published: https://seattlebookreview.com/product/if-they-come-for-us-poems/

review
SkeletonKey
post image
Pickpick

This book was excellent, the poems were wonderful. Very creative and on point. I learned things.

#poetry

38 likes2 stack adds
review
BookInMyHands
post image
Pickpick

Heartbreaking, beautiful, moving, and powerful, Fatimah Asghar writes about her experience growing up as an orphaned Pakistani Muslim woman in the U.S., as well as giving voice to other marginalized peoples.

#readingwomenofcolor2019
#poetry

Weaponxgirl This has been on my tbr for ages, gonna have to try and bump it up the list 5y
mrozzz 🙌🏻👏🏻👌🏻 5y
64 likes3 stack adds2 comments
blurb
MarriedtoMrT
post image

Another post about books I haven‘t read yet! These two were my planned reads a few weekends ago but as with most of my reading plans (looking at you, TBR) they got derailed a bit. That said, these are both keepers!

If They Come for Us is gorgeous. I‘ve read several poems so far and each one I‘ve read at least twice. It‘s going to be a heartbreaker.

Paperback Crush is full of nostalgia and will be great to read a bit at a time when the mood hits.

readingjedi Gorgeous cover! 5y
MarriedtoMrT @readingjedi I know! I love it. I started following the artist on Instagram (but, of course, now I forget her name). 5y
37 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
Sharanya
post image

#24in48 Hour 18: #WeNeedDiverseBooks | I read this fantastic collection of poems when it was first released last August, & I often find myself returning to these poems, which explore the poet‘s relationship to her family, her sexuality, & her histories, both personal & global. It‘s the first time I‘ve felt like I saw parts of my own experience in poetry. I felt it changed the landscape of what is possible for me to write about in my own work ♥️

MarriedtoMrT I have this one on my immediate TBR right now. I‘m looking forward to it! 5y
22 likes3 stack adds1 comment
review
Sheasgirl
post image
Pickpick

I loved these poems. We carry our history wherever we go, and I am so impressed when a poet can weave together individual experience and world events in a line or two. Highly recommended.

review
sakeriver
Pickpick

What a great way to start off the year. These poems are by turns intense, tender, funny, poignant, and more besides. There‘s a running theme of partition, both the Partition of India and the ways in which people separate and are separated. But always there is this defiance of partition, too, a refusal to see people as simply separate or unified, affirming both our uniqueness and our community.

quote
sakeriver
post image

Been thinking about this poem all day. How the white space separates the stanzas. And what that does in the context of a poem about separation. And how, as the poem progresses, the words move toward a defiance of that separation. It‘s really something.

blurb
sakeriver
post image

First book of 2019.

review
Lindy
post image
Pickpick

A vibrant, outstanding collection of poetry—in forms that range from traditional to experimental—& cover a spectrum of emotions: fierce, sad, hopeful, raw, vulnerable, angry, playful & joyful. Orphaned young, Asghar tackles issues of identity & belonging, racism & misogyny, & the trauma passed down through generations by the Partition of India. #Muslim #LGBTQ

47 likes1 stack add
quote
Lindy
post image

I promised myself I‘d be naked,
here, in all this nature, but the first day
I found a tick clinging to my arm hair for dear
life & decided no way I‘m exposing
my pussy to the elements. My love
for nature is like my love for most things:
fickle & theoretical. Too many bugs
& I want a divorce.

41 likes1 stack add
quote
Lindy
post image

Microaggression Bingo
[detail]

Samplergal I loved this book. Typically not what I‘d read. This is so good. 5y
CouronneDhiver Ha! Oh dear 5y
Lindy @Samplergal Yes, it‘s great. I‘m going to read it through a second time before I review it. 😊 5y
38 likes3 comments
review
Bookalong
post image
Pickpick

????/5
" We got sent home early and no one knew why.
I think we are at War!
I yelled to my sister napsacks ringing against our backs."
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one. But I was pleasantly surprised by it.
Asghar's debut is raw, honest, emotional and powerful. These short poems cover so much. From violence, terrorism, hate and trauma, to sexuality, identity, ancestry, famiky, loss, coming of age and more.
Also this cover ?

7 likes1 stack add
review
Emily92Bibliophile
post image
Pickpick

🎧📚Definitely a must read. 4⭐️SCRIBD audio

blurb
Tameeka
post image

I groaned out loud when I read Fatimah‘s “Microaggression Bingo”. I feel your pain girl.

#litsyatoz

14 likes2 stack adds
blurb
Thornsandrosesbooks
post image

An incredible and necessary read! I love finding new voices that are able to recreate poetry to tell their story.

review
8little_paws
post image
Pickpick

Morning, littens! Just getting this great poetry book on your radar! How gorgeous is that cover!?

Chelleo 😍 5y
slategreyskies Thanks for posting about this. I hadn‘t heard about it yet, and it looks really good. I just checked my library system, and they have a copy at one of their branches. I‘m going to drive over and pick it up in a bit! 💜 5y
Reviewsbylola Absolutely beautiful!! 5y
37 likes2 stack adds4 comments
blurb
queerbookreader
post image

Current #BlameItOnLitsy read. I saw someone I follow post about it and it sounded amazing, and guess what IT IS. It's full of raw emotion. Poetry book by a Pakistani Muslim-American woman who talks about identity, race, trump's america, loss, and the Indian/Pakistani Partition. I know nothing about the partition; all I ever learned about South Asia in school was a teeny bit about the British occupation. Googling lots of things while reading

Lel2403 Love the sound of this 5y
Samplergal Powerful read. I loved it. 5y
42 likes3 stack adds2 comments
quote
Misanthropester
post image

As a pacifist, this really hit #poetry

blurb
Misanthropester
post image

Wildly excited to read this #poetry collection

review
WhatDeeReads
post image
Pickpick

I don‘t really have words except go read this.

Sace I'm not very good at reading poetry but this makes me want to try! 6y
WhatDeeReads @RestlessFickleBookHoarder Neither am I. This author is local and I‘ve been trying to learn more about the conflicts in the Middle East this seemed like a quick and authentic place to start. 5y
38 likes3 stack adds2 comments
review
TelevisionNeighbor
post image
Pickpick

Microagression Bingo

blurb
TelevisionNeighbor
post image

I recommend asking your library to buy books. They take requests.

CaliforniaCay I just got this from my library! I loved it! 6y
14 likes1 comment
blurb
hwestfall
post image

I saw this on Random House's Instagram today. Isn't it beautiful? I added this poetry collection to my "to read" list. I really need more poetry in my life!

12 likes2 stack adds
review
amma-keep-reading
Pickpick

i've discovered a love for personal poetry ... the kind of poetry that feels like you are reading someone's diary versus the cerebral musings of an individual (if that makes any sense). this is definitely a collection of intimate musings.

review
KariBinGut
post image
Pickpick

As beautiful on the inside as the outside.

review
ReadingEnvy
post image
Pickpick

Poems about Partition and its lifelong effects, growing up in America with brown skin, and more. Asghar dedicates specific poems to Nikki Giovanni, Danez Smith, and Safia Elhillo - all poets I adore and find her to be good company. (Poet is also the writer and co-creator of the web series Brown Girls, which I can highly recommend.) eARC from publisher, out nowish.

66 likes1 stack add
review
lovelybookshelf
Pickpick

These poems explore so many themes, such as identity (personal, cultural, sexual, gender), community, the immigrant experience, belonging, experiencing microaggressions, and the far-reaching impact of colonialism, as well as the effect of 9/11 on Muslim Americans. This collection evokes emotion and shares stories. I love the variety of form and the cadence of these poems, but most especially, I love Asghar's voice.

review
Redwritinghood
post image
Pickpick

I received this via #netgalley in exchange for my review. This is a good, sparely-written poetry collection reflecting on a variety of topics related to the author‘s identity: the India/Pakistan partition and its effect on her family, being orphaned, being Muslim in the US after 9/11, and femininity. Some poems are direct and sometimes shocking, while others wistfully mourn the people from India/Pakistan, her youth and her family connections. 4⭐️

Samplergal I really liked it. I read it last week as an ARC. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Powerful stuff. 6y
readordierachel Nice review! This sounds great. 6y
mrozzz 🙌🏻 6y
79 likes4 stack adds3 comments