“For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Wasn’t Enuf,” started off as a highly acclaimed critical success on Broadway in 1974.  

The book, first published in 1975, is the script of the play. A collection of the 20 poems recited in the play, including stage directions.

Ntozake Shange, a renowned playwright and poet from Trenton, N.J., wrote the book.

Shange’s poetry reveals what it is to be of and female in the twentieth century.

Her poems are written with vibrant and powerful language.

The book’s characters include seven nameless women, each represented only by a color (“lady in red,” “lady in blue,” etc.).

The book consists of each of these women telling stories that explore joy, pain, love, violence, sexuality and self-worth.

These poems will make you cry, laugh, and shout; they may even make you jump to your feet because they’re just that accurate.

Shange does a remarkable job capturing the complex world of black women.

So much so that it will not only help others understand black women better but also leave black women with a better understanding of themselves.

That  being  said, the  book  is not for the average reader, one must have a decent understanding of poetries symbolism, figurative language, free verse, dialect, etc.

Only then will the reader be able to experience the true powerful meaning behind each of the poems.

“For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Wasn’t Enuf” is a dynamic book that will continue to stay relevant for generations to come.

• Syliva Obell