Poetry collection review: The Adoption Papers (1991) by Jackie Kay.

Hello everyone. Today I am reviewing The Adoption Papers (1991) by Jackie Kay. This book is in two parts: the extended poem 'The Adoption Papers' and the collection 'Severe Gale 8'. 

When I started reading this I was glad that all three people involved in the first part - the daughter, the birth mother and the adoptive mother were distinguishable with their clear distinctions made typographically. The use of three different fonts throughout the whole thing to identify the three different voices was a excellent idea. Without this the sequence would have been confusing when reading it.

Speaking of these three voices, they each had their own tone. The daughter seems to be rebellious and tough, not letting racism put her down. Being with white guardians is not a problem for her as she accepts it. Other people though seem to find this an issue obviously. What I love with Jackie Kay is how she throws a spotlight on important issues such as racism. As an author of colour, to highlight such an important issue is something I value. I might be white but to me equality is essential. I face a different type of discrimination myself. Even to this day racism and xenophobia are both everywhere a lot. I cannot comprehend that there is so much hatred in the world. But in The Adoption Papers, the adoptive mother seems support of everything her adoptive daughter faces and this makes the statement that a black child can have a white parent or guardian.

Regarding the second part of the collection, 'Severe Gale 8' offers a mix of other things. One such poem is entitled 'NHS'. Again, this is something that was relevant then back in the 1990s and is still relevant today. We had the Conservatives ruining the NHS all while we tried our best through the coronavirus pandemic, the Labour party not doing much better at getting the NHS fixed, and Reform UK wanting to scrap it in favour of privatisation of our healthcare. I am not sure about you, but thousands for an operation? No thank you!

Anyway the poems in the 'Severe Gale 8' section are all varied and a delight to read. These include 'Close Shave' and 'Dance of the Cherry Blossom' which two that I enjoyed a lot. This paired together with 'The Adoption Papers' section was lovely and what Jackie Kay has made is great poetry collection. I am giving this a 7.5/10.


Until next time,


Thomas (they/them).

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