Heirloom

'The haunting of ancestry is both a gift and a terror in the blood in Catherine-Esther Cowie's stunning debut collection, Heirloom, that is peopled by the brilliantly embodied personages of four generations of women. These are beautiful, difficult poems of liberation by a specially gifted poet.'
Kwame Dawes

'Heirloom is a determined "unforgetting" as "this arm muscling towards memory" relates, in unapologetic post-modernist style.'
John R. Lee

‘What elevates this collection is Cowie’s use of language. The colloquial elements and cultural traditions woven throughout add a spiritual depth, grounding the narrative in a sense of place and heritage. Heirloom examines the ways trauma can be inherited and resisted, yet Cowie reminds us that survival is not just about endurance; it is about transformation and pulling through when feeling the weight of it all. ... A remarkable debut from Catherine-Esther Cowie that’s worth reading and discussing afterwards.’
Yomi Ṣode, PBS Summer Bulletin

'Cowie's book invites us to trace a family narrative, to move forwards along a linear chronology whilst recurring to and unfolding that still bruising story of origin, a story which is not simply a personal heritage but also a representation of colonial and post-colonial history.' 
Kathleen McPhilemy, The High Window

'This is a durable, relentless body of work.'
Shivanee Ramlochan, Caribbean Beat Magazine

'Heirloom is a work of feminist significance and artistic beauty.'
Rhony Bhopla, Harvard Review