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Versions of the Self by [Christy Birmingham]

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Christy Birmingham

Versions of the Self Kindle Edition

by Christy Birmingham (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Imagine a shift to the way you see the world that arises through poetic narration.

Imagine the world, at its base level, is a collection of selves. These selves collide, disperse, intermingle, and share themselves in lines of free verse. Such is the premise of Versions of the Self, poetry that assumes multiple types of selves exist and relate in ways that alter them. Each of the eight chapters looks at a different type of self, including the singular “I” and romantic interactions. These unique 80 poems definitely color themselves outside of the lines.

Print length

104 pages
Language

English
Publication date

May 15, 2015
Reading age

18 years
Grade level

12 and up
File size

2720 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Not Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christy Birmingham is a freelance writer in Victoria, BC, who has a BA in Psychology and has taken professional writing courses at the University of Victoria. She is the author of Pathways to Illumination (Redmund Productions, 2013), her first poetry book. Her work also appears in the Poetry Institute of Canada’s From the Cerulean Sea: An Anthology of Verse (2013) and the literary journals The Claremont Review and Tipton Poetry Journal. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00XQOH3IE
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Christy Birmingham; 1st edition (May 15, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 15, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2720 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 104 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0994094906
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #2,897,937 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,224 in Religious & Inspirational Poetry
- #4,198 in Women's Poetry
- #10,901 in Inspirational & Religious Poetry (Books)

Customer Reviews:
35 ratings

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TriciaReads

Beautiful and inspirational

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2017

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Versions of the Self is a collection of poetry that inspires and enthralls. Each thought-provoking piece is one to be savored. A variety of topics are explored, from nature (Painted Mountains) to simple pleasures (A Sundae Type of Day), from love to heartbreak. Ultimately, this collection is about relationships in all its forms. Christy Birmingham delves deep into the bonds of family (Tender Hands) and friendship, and she also examines the many ways love can go wrong (and right). But the most important relationship she writes about is the relationship we have with ourselves, or more specifically, with the many versions of ourselves that reside within us.

I have so many favorites within the pages of this book. In “Equality and Vision,” Christy honors women from our past, present, and future. Beautifully and delicately woven, “Introspection and Suffocation” resonated with me for many reasons. “Beauty, In Pursuit” examines our society’s relationship with trends and obsession with outer beauty. I could go on and on.

If you love poetry, or if you are interested in branching out and reading more poetry, I would highly recommend this book.

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Sheila

Incredible, inspirational poetry

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2017

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These poems resonated with me when I read them, and they’re still resonating. There are so many feelings that can be found here, so many relationships, so many selves.

I loved the poems that celebrated freedom and could at times feel my soul soaring along with the words. Then different poems made me stop and think while bringing me back to Earth.

The poem, “Within a Few Feet,” shows the regrets that hold us back and keep us earthbound, all while freedom is only a few feet away in the form of seagulls tempting the author to fly.

Some poems show the gradual process of healing before being able to move on, then we come to, “Made to Write,” where the writer discovers her purpose and “I Stand Here,” showing her growing confidence with this last stanza: “I stand alive,/Healthy and complete, as/My branches extend into fresh air around me.”

We also see the joy of new love and the fear of that love diminishing or disappearing. Questions and disappointments surface, but then there’s always that chance for freedom and soaring again. “You, Colors, and Realization” shows this perfectly after stating “You were once a masterpiece”:

“Today, your colors fall to a wooden floor,/While I run a paintbrush under the kitchen tap/To clean the bristles and/Paint a new day,/Made of colors that I alone choose.”

Anyone who has ever had doubts while in a relationship, and I’m guessing that’s everyone, will find themselves here. Times of insecurity and despair combine with a blooming confidence and an ecstasy for life, giving the reader an overall feeling of positive energy and tingling inspiration.

We see the friendships we form with different people, how we push each other, help each other, inspire each other, and push each other away.

The theme of freedom floats through the pages, and it’s not always meant as freedom from a particular relationship. There’s a stronger sense of freedom from fear, freedom from anything holding you back from what you’re meant to do.

We see this in “Flight Path” with these lines: “You are more than your drenched feathers…You are meant to fly, I know you can, and/It is the moment when you turn can into will/That I will savor the most.”

With all of these poems and inspiring words, we see the bravery it takes to step forward into each day and the exhilaration that’s felt when we leave our fear behind. Everyone who reads this collection will see different versions of herself or himself, the effects we have on each other, and all the energy that can be felt when we find a way to be true to ourselves.

Highly recommend to men and women, to people who love to read poetry and to people who have never read poetry. To everyone who has ever been filled with doubts or regrets, love and joy.

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sir henry

We find ourselves

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2016

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It would be a mistake for one to approach Christy Birmingham's "Versions of the Self" as a mere collection of poems. It is beyond that. What shines throughout is what the title implies--a very personally recorded journal through heartache and joy, of struggle and redemption. Birmingham's courage coats every page without the academic feel of stuffy poetic hallways and cobwebbed meter. Rather, in "Versions" we get what we expect--honesty.
As I read through Birmingham's landscape of shared peaks and valleys, I found at times a rich blend of "Notes from the Underground" with the poetic bend of "The Bell Jar", filled with the same kind of mystery.
Still, Birmingham's Psychology degree can be found punctuating itself inside a metaphoric Helping Hand. No serious reader of this collection can escape the nuances of survival, healing, and encouragement, as found in Flight Path, telling herself, and us, to..."Get ready to be extraordinary." And even in Behind Puddles I found rich lines that carried Biblical undertones--"A dark sky that lifts its skirt to / Release the watershed, and I wonder / What you see under her skirt that / You do not see under my hem."--smacking of King David and even Samson.
Birmingham's quiet and plain-spoken rebuttal to heartache seems almost clothed in sweetness when she writes--"Today, although I sit in the corner alone / I am warmer than I ever was with you."
Here, in "Versions of the Self" we not only find Christy Birmingham, but we find ourselves. And wise is the reader who looks deeply into this well so unselfishly offered up.

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Top reviews from other countries

S.C. Potter

A deeply personal, honest, and emotive read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2016

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Christy Birmingham has written her poetry collection Versions of The Self from the first-person viewpoint because it’s about her personal journey. At first I found the constant use of the word “I” off-putting, but my initial reaction fast metamorphosed into feeling privileged, as a reader, to share in Christy’s honest account of putting herself back together, having had a relationship with someone who did his best to destroy her.

She tells of her deep love for this man and his gradual undermining of her confidence through mind-games and abuse, before leaving her for another woman. The form of manipulation she describes him inflicting upon her, is an archetypical use of what psychologists call “gaslighting”, in which the perpetrator’s tactics of manipulation ultimately cause the victim to no longer trust her own judgment. In fact, Christy does have a BA in Psychology and it’s possible that her area of study has retrospectively contributed towards her ability to express in words her traumatic experience.

What follows is an account of a woman lying in fragments, who must somehow learn to see herself as a whole person again and think herself worthy of love, or able to trust another to give of her love to him. It makes incredibly emotive reading, as she makes a detailed examination of the fragments, draws them together, starts to trust her own judgment, and rediscovers joy. It’s a redefining of her as a person, as she comes to accept that she cannot undo her experiences or lose the memory of them, but she can learn to move on beyond them and be a valid human being, with so much to give to the world. In fact, what I loved about Christy’s account was that not for a moment did she wallow in self-pity. Often, I wanted to give her a big hug and say “you are so, so brave. Go for it, gal!”

This poetry collection makes such an emotive read and would speak volumes to people who have or still are experiencing what Christy describes. I loved the way the writing flowed along in free verse with such forward momentum, occasionally pausing on its journey for detailed contemplation of a tiny detail. Christy has such a unique way of organising words and a fresh way of describing exactly what she means, but from a lateral slant.

A highly recommended read.

Kevin Cooper

A Fabulous Work of Poetry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2016

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What I love the most about this work is how, Christy draws you into her own universe of self. She starts out with a discovery of internal self-realisation in Serenade and other poems, and as she concludes her discovery we are invited to join her excitedly as she shares her joys to the point that we are even teased into sharing secrets!

We see how the self adjusts to the workings of exploring a relationship and are then thrown into the world of other relationships as we are introduced to him, and her. Almost as in the observation of other relationships.

Then there is the self becoming involved with convictions, such as a stand for women and equality before being given a sense of further self exploration... Such as one's measure of beauty, but in a somewhat collective manner as in when we reflect, wonder and find contentment with how far we've come.

No doubt others will come away with their own interpretations... But that is the beauty of good poetry, is it not?

This is a fabulous work of poetry, definitely a five-star work for me.

2 people found this helpful

Ste J

whose writing you enjoy is always enjoyable so the theory is that his ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2016

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Indulging in the work of a fellow blogger, whose writing you enjoy is always enjoyable so the theory is that his or her writing in book form should be even better. No screen, just paper, print and if you cram your nose really far into the book a faint scent of what I think I bizarrely plastic bags.

That may say more about my smelling habits than it does about anything else so I will leave that for another blog post… Christy writing in her usual honest and positive way engaged this reader from the very beginning of this very personal chronicle of self-examination and its accompanying realisations.

Each of the poems are direct and convey their emotions simply and fluently. There are plenty of excellent phrases scattered generously around showcasing Christy’s ability to convey maximum feeling in short bursts on the page; Which I find to be mirrored with the excellent cover design.

The book begins on a moment, a teetering between directions, it is a threshold choice taken and slowly explored and dissected. The reader is invited to watch the author explore herself and her relationships in a sincere and lyrical way and feel like we not only have an understanding of the writer but perhaps a better understanding of how we ourselves interpret and deal with things.

Each part of the book explores Christy’s various Selves that go into making up her singular Self, the examination of the way we interact and think with different parts of our minds on various levels. With friends loss, romance and hurt all taking their turns, I found myself compelled to just ‘read one more’ and ended up poring over the book for far longer than I had anticipated I would. Works of poetry usually demanding my contemplation before reading on. Yet in this case, I just wanted more as soon as possible.

My standout poem – if I had to pick (and I will) – was You, Colours and Realisation; an artfully realised poem of change, endings and beginnings, regret and comprehension. I also found the theme of water flowing through the book to be manifest with symbolism but above all as a cleansing ritual of which the words of strength and self understanding wash over the reader.

There is light, discovery and melancholy to be discovered in this sensitively penned portrait, the mix of emotional states makes for a varied and very readable collection, I enjoyed it and will be reading this book may times in the future no doubt but the most important thing I learnt through this voyage of self discovery is that Christy really loves her bed!

the last unicorn

These lines reveal the pensive and imaginative mind of a poet who is rooted in reality but gifted with the talent of describing everyday events with fantastic flair. The poems speak of moments in life ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2017

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Versions of the Self plays around with the concept of different selves, not trying to pin down or define the self, but dazzling the reader with the many colorful possibilities of human existence. These lines reveal the pensive and imaginative mind of a poet who is rooted in reality but gifted with the talent of describing everyday events with fantastic flair.

The poems speak of moments in life that we can all relate to: the love of a child for their parent, the sudden yearning for a crush, the heartbreak of rejection, the self-confidence that comes from releasing fear. Christy provides fitting and beautiful metaphors for all of these, making it appear like each one is not just different side of the self, but a whole other world.

Some of my favourite poems were ones where the 'self' tries to see beyond her current situation and imagine the possibilities, as in this excerpt from "The Field of Poppies":

I bend down to pick the red flowers at
My feet, and I wonder at a day when
Tears do not stain my cheeks.
I wonder how the words will sound,
I wonder who will hold my hand then.

These poems give the impression of someone young, optimistic, hopeful. The different selves can be separated by seemingly insurmountable gulfs, but at the same time these poems speak of a strong connection, not only between people but also with nature and even the stars beyond our world.

Freya Pickard

Challenging but not disturbing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2016

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I bought this collection because I've been following Christy's blogs for a while and I enjoy her writing. I chose Versions of the Self because it is her most recent publication and I loved the splashes of colour on the front cover!

What struck me about these poems was the personal nature and themes they explore. This is a poet being honest and unpretentious. The poems are collected into themes which explore the different aspects of Christy. This is not a collection to breeze through. This collection is one to re-read again and again. On each re-read I am finding new things, discovering different viewpoints.

My three favourite poems are:

Never Now
A positive look back at a failure in life; You are caged into / A piece of the last chapter / And my words fill / The present page.

See My Sense of Self
An intriguing exploration of how the poet sees herself versus the person who thinks they know her: You see it is a version of me, virtual / That you have come to know... / I am more than a / smiling photo

The Scampering Poem
A light-hearted yet serious viewpoint on how we let life run away with us, how we're maybe even too busy to finish reading the poem! I know exactly what the poet means by; Life is humming away in your mind, with thoughts of / What to make for dinner...

Challenging but not disturbing. Inspiring, even in the sorrowful verses. Christy Birmingham is a writer to follow!

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