Bloodsongs

Mae Diansangu

Book of the Month: November 2024

Reviewed by Myla Corvidae

We start in an overture of blood that drips into a torrent of talent. Mae Diansangu does not shy away from hard truths in their poetry, and in Bloodsongs, their debut collection published by Tapsalteerie, that strength is reflected through their un-tellings.

She deletes every instance where

Black represents suffering and death.

Now, darkness is a symbol

Of strength, hope and purity.

Excerpt from ‘Mary Magdalene’

Diansangu’s poetry speaks directly to the intricacies of being alive. It's intersectional, shedding the veil on themes of memory, grief and the complexities of being Black, queer and British in todays political and moral landscape. Their unique voice shapes our journey throughout, welcoming readers to reflect, laugh, grieve and fight, unwriting the traditional narratives we have all been fed like powder mixed in with our meals for decades. Through this unspeaking and retelling, we are pushed as readers to reconsider what we were always told to be ‘true’.

I know I belong here. The myth of my body
Is submerged by a soft and damp ambiguity:
The fluid spaces between Sisters/Lovers/
Hunters/Hunted.

Excerpt from ‘Siproites stumbles across Artemis bathing and is transformed’

In the section titled 'Bloody Women', Diansangu’s way of translating the world finds us in our most vulnerable position. as women who once were. This works as both a joke and a statement, and the poems carry us through thoughts of womanhood. The use of Scots throughout only adds to the force of the poetry, such as ‘Nae much wunner / we become monsters’ and ‘this city hiz teeth’, reflecting on the struggles of women in the modern day while also inviting us to ‘drag the city inside us’, laying a powerful claim to ownership of self and space.

Meanwhile Diansangu's ‘songs’ of blood remind us that we are all interlinked, whether it’s by city, self and/or our speech. We find ourselves wanting more, hungry for something to cut our teeth on, but instead, the poems here invite us to take a pause, reflect on ourselves, our morality and how we bide our time if all that’s left to us is the words in our minds.

After that heaviness, there’s a pause for breath, and then the collection envelops us in softness with the section titled ‘The Shape of Love’. The poems here show again a brilliant understanding of where poetry and art can intersect, as both content and form flow alongside ideas of gender fluidity and family, reminding the reader that blood is not just something that shows up in violence.

Diansangu’s masterful command of structure turns their debut collection into a grounding and uplifting production, one that reminds us that violence, family and love are never far from each other.

Bloodsongs can best be described, really, in the writers own words, which resounded in me as I consumed the book, taking it all into myself: 'A place far I am held, a place far I am seen.' (From ‘Medusa’.)

Bloodsongs is published by Tapsalteerie

Myla Corvidae is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer and performer working and living in Scotland. Previously Myla has been a public speaker for Scottish Parliament, and an illustrator for Gwyllion Magazine and Urban Gulls Press.