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    If My Body Could Speak
    If My Body Could Speak
    If My Body Could Speak
    Ebook92 pages38 minutes

    If My Body Could Speak

    By Blythe Baird

    4.5/5

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    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Blythe Baird's If My Body Could Speak is a celebration of girlhood and all of its struggles and triumphs.

    In poems that dig deep into sexuality, acceptance of the body, survival of trauma, and learning to love yourself in spite of everything telling you not to, Baird's voice is a rich addition to her generation. Searing, soaring, and heartbreaking, If My Body Could Speak balances the softness of femininity with the sharpness that girls are forced to become.

    Includes poems such as "Girl Code 101", "When the Fat Girl Gets Skinny", and "Pocket-Sized Feminism" that have been watched by millions online.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherButton Poetry
    Release dateFeb 5, 2019
    ISBN9781943735488
    If My Body Could Speak
    Author

    Blythe Baird

    At only 25 years old, Blythe Baird is already one of the most recognizable and acclaimed names in spoken word poetry. Originally from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, the viral writer has garnered international recognition for her stunning performance pieces that speak urgently and honestly about sexual assault, mental illness, eating disorder recovery, sexuality, and healing from trauma. Baird graduated from Hamline University in 2018 with a dual degree in creative writing and women’s studies. In 2020, she became the recipient of the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Spoken Word.

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    Reviews for If My Body Could Speak

    4.5/5

    145 ratings11 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      i love this book it was so beautiful the author is amazing
    • 5/5
      This is exactly what I needed today. Thank you for putting my pain into words. Your slam poetry has always touched me and now I feel less alone.
    • 5/5
      No words can describe how wonderful this book is ...such a powerful piece of writing which speaks for the Author ,what an amazing book.
    • 5/5
      4.5 stars
      content warning: sexual assault, eating disorder, homophobia
      This collection made me feel all the emotions
    • 5/5
      Wow, this made me emotional as I could relate to a lot of it ?
    • 5/5
      This book is beautiful.Her writing is beautiful.It's so sad that we women have to live in fear everyday since we were kids..
    • 4/5
      This is the first poem I am reading that talks about anorexia and rape (from the poet's POV), and I don't know what to say.
      If I say this poetry is a beautiful work of art, which it indeed is, am I endorsing all the things that happened? The experiences that brought this to be.
      I don't think so. But perhaps I'll say I am grateful to Baird for sharing this part of herself. Thank you Blythe Baird.
    • 5/5
      Extremely relatable. Love her work!! Her slam poetry is also amazing.
    • 5/5
      These are my favourite pieces of poetry ever! It’s scary how similar I am to Blythe (same struggles with eating disorders, I’m also a lesbian, with a homophobic mum who sounds exactly like her mum in the poetry) but the poems I couldn’t relate to (about assault) really struck a chord with me, it just proves how amazing her writing is that you don’t have to have gone through the same thing to connect with her poems. I think she did such an amazing job with this book and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
    • 4/5
      I’ve always liked her poetry, if you like this, check out her live slam poetry.
    • 5/5
      I don't think I've read something so hauntingly beautiful, bleak and honest in a long time.

    Book preview

    If My Body Could Speak - Blythe Baird

    SPEAK

    WHEN THE FAT GIRL GETS SKINNY

    the year of skinny pop and sugar-free jello cups

    we guzzled vitamin water and vodka

    toasting to high school and survival

    complimenting each other’s collarbones

    trying diets we found on the internet:

    menthol cigarettes, eating in front of a mirror,

    donating blood

    replacing meals with other practical hobbies

    like making flower crowns

    or fainting

    wondering why I haven’t had my period

    in months

    why breakfast tastes like

    giving up

    or how many more productive ways

    I could have spent my time today

    besides googling the calories

    in the glue of a US envelope,

    watching America’s Next Top Model

    like the gospel,

    hunching naked over a bathroom scale shrine,

    crying into an empty bowl of Cocoa Puffs

    because I only feel pretty

    when I’m hungry

    if you are not recovering

    you are dying

    by the time I was sixteen, I had already experienced

    being clinically overweight, underweight, and obese

    as a child, fat was the first word

    people used to describe me

    which didn’t offend me until

    I found out it was supposed to

    when I lost weight, my dad was so proud

    he started carrying my before-and-after photo

    in his wallet

    so relieved he could stop worrying

    about me getting diabetes

    he saw a program on the news

    about the epidemic with obesity,

    says he is just so glad to finally see me

    taking care of myself

    if you develop an eating disorder

    when you are already thin to begin with,

    you go to the hospital

    if you develop an eating disorder

    when you are not thin to begin with,

    you are a success story

    so when I evaporated, of course

    everyone congratulated me

    on getting healthy

    girls at school who never spoke to me before

    stopped me in the hallway to ask how I did it

    I say, I am sick

    they say, No, you are

    an inspiration

    how could I not fall

    in love with my illness?

    with becoming the kind of silhouette

    people are supposed to fall in love with?

    why would I ever want to stop

    being hungry

    when anorexia was the most

    interesting thing about me?

    so, how lucky it is now,

    to be boring

    the way not going to the hospital

    is boring

    the way looking at an apple

    and seeing only an apple, not sixty

    or half an hour of sit-ups

    is boring

    my story may not be as exciting as it used

    to be, but at least there is nothing left

    to count

    the calculator in my head

    finally stopped

    I used to love the feeling of drinking water

    on an empty stomach

    waiting for the coolness to slip all

    the way down and land in the well

    not obsessed with being empty

    but afraid of being full

    I used to take pride in being able to feel

    cold in a warm room

    now, I am proud I have stopped

    seeking revenge on this body

    this was the year of eating

    when I was hungry

    without punishing myself

    and I know it sounds ridiculous,

    but that shit is hard

    when I

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