Made From My Mother's Ceilings

Jahman Hill’s “Made From My Mother’s Ceiling” is a poetry book that immediately brings the reader on a journey of self-identity. Through exploring Hill’s particular black experience,the speaker reflects on how he has come to grips with his true self.  Hill shares with readers his vulnerabilities caused by inherited shards of that glass ceiling that his mother pushed through to break barriers. 

This literary work takes the reader through an avenue of how man-made systems of race and gender roles contribute to the challenges that many black men face. Interestingly, each poem is a connection to the man Hill has now become. I chose this book due to Hill’s words revealing the vulnerable sides of a black man, a trait often left unexplored. In his anthology, Hill conveys how masculinity is fragile and even more sensitive if men are actually required to portray it. This is especially true in African-American communities, where mental health and sexuality are rarely discussed.