Kate Baer

A stunning and honest debut poetry collection about the beauty and hardships in being a mother, a wife, and a woman.

Poems

What Kind of Woman

gitsa

I dreamt myself into a mother, but when I became her, I had to dream her back into a woman back into a woman back into a woman again.

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller A Goop Book Club Pick "If you want your breath to catch and your heart to stop, turn to Kate Baer."--Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo A stunning and honest debut poetry collection about the beauty and hardships of being a woman in the world today, and the many roles we play - mother, partner, and friend. “When life throws you a bag of sorrow, hold out your hands/Little by little, mountains are climbed.” So ends Kate Baer’s remarkable poem “Things My Girlfriends Teach Me.” In “Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels” she challenges her reader to consider their grandmother’s cake, the taste of the sea, the cool swill of freedom. In her poem “Deliverance” about her son’s birth she writes “What is the word for when the light leaves the body?/What is the word for when it/at last, returns?” Through poems that are as unforgettably beautiful as they are accessible, Kate Bear proves herself to truly be an exemplary voice in modern poetry. Her words make women feel seen in their own bodies, in their own marriages, and in their own lives. Her poems are those you share with your mother, your daughter, your sister, and your friends.

Lizzy Jensen

Finished this book in a single sitting and found myself in tears because it resonated with me so deeply. I don't typically lean towards poetry, but when I read a review describing this book as an exploration of the profound yearnings of women, I couldn't resist diving into it.

azliana aziz

The Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller 'Expect screenshots of Kate Baer's poetry to dominate the WhatsApp chats this summer. Baer's poems are sharp observations on modern womanhood.' Sunday Times A stunning and honest debut poetry collection about the beauty and hardships of being a woman in the world today, and the many roles we play - mother, partner, and friend. 'When life throws you a bag of sorrow, hold out your hands/Little by little, mountains are climbed.' So ends Kate Baer's remarkable poem 'Things My Girlfriends Teach Me.' In 'Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels' she challenges her reader to consider their grandmother's cake, the taste of the sea, the cool swill of freedom. In her poem 'Deliverance' about her son's birth she writes 'What is the word for when the light leaves the body?/What is the word for when it/at last, returns?' Through poems that are as unforgettably beautiful as they are accessible, Kate Baer proves herself to truly be an exemplary voice in modern poetry. Her words make women feel seen in their own bodies, in their own marriages, and in their own lives. Her poems are those you share with your mother, your daughter, your sister, and your friends.

anita

while reading this i found myself overthinking if i ever actually want to be a wife or a mother, being a women is already enough pressure.. (⁠〒⁠﹏⁠〒⁠)

kaitlan

In the morning when you wake: stretch. Do not complain. Do not set sail on someone else’s becoming

Even the glass of water is poetry now.


Poems about, well, what it means to be a woman: daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, artist, lover, female human. Poems about the things we mean to say, often in contrast to the things we actually say. Angry, political, universal, tender. 


Curveball 

This is a love story, Phoebe Waller-Bridge
wrote. Though in fairness they always are.
Even when it is imagined. Even when it ends
with the shower running, towel at your waist.
Even when the last thing you say is, I never liked
your mother anyway.

When I took you as a husband I did not know
the deaths our love would suffer. I did not know
the graves of loneliness. Last week when you asked
if I ever thought of leaving, I said no, even though
what I meant was that I love the feel of your hands
in the morning. That even in our darkest hours,
I still wait for the sound of your feet at the door.

Sofia Nunes

“This is not a dress rehearsal before a better kind of life. Pick up your heavy burdens and leave them at the gate. I will hold the door for you.”

Eva Bailey

Another incredible collection by Kate Baer. Some of these poems really hit me. Emotional and beautiful.

Blayke 

" I got engaged when I was eighteen to a boy I would never marry.
I loved him more than anyone has ever loved, and still
I cut him open, held his heart to his throat. "

Archita Birla

Not every poem in this book was for me, but the ones that were -- I really, really enjoyed. I think this may be more suited for mothers and that journey of motherhood, but there was still a great sum of poems that I loved (see below).


Not Like Other Girls 
Moon Song
Plot Lines for Female Leads
My Friend Bethany Rages at the News
It's Like This
Fat Girl
Fresh Lemonade
Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels
Back to School Shopping

Julia

Beautiful short read. 🌸 Something different from my normal read. Such a refreshing take on being women with reminders of how life is for us.

Amy Grieve

This was a nice poetry collection and I loved the first set of poems, however as things progressed I found a lot of the poems meh. It's disappointing because a lot of the poems discuss the theme of motherhood which is something I'm usually really intrigued by. Not in this case.

What Kind of Woman Poems

Reviews

Highlights