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woke up no light is a Black girl’s saunter turned to a woman’s defiant strut. These are the hymns of a new generation of poetry. Young, alive, yearning. A mouth swung open and ready to devour. A quest for home in a world that knows only wasteland and wanting.
Moving in sections from “girlhood” to “neighborhood” to “falsehood” to, finally, “womanhood,” these poems reckon with themes of reparations, restitution, and desire. The collection is sharp and raw, wise and rhythmic, a combination that lights up each page. From unearthing histories to searching for ways to dream of a future in a world constantly on the brink of disaster, this young poet sets forth personal and political revelation with piercing detail.
woke up no light confirms Leila Mottley’s arrival and demonstrates the enduring power of her voice—brave and distinctive and thoroughly her own.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 16, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593869451
- File size: 44177 KB
- Duration: 01:32:02
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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June 1, 2024
The 2018 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Mottley's (Nightcrawling) debut poetry collection traverses histories, both individual and collective, as it explores the violence-ridden journey from girlhood to sisterhood, daughterhood, and motherhood--the many faces and bodies of being a Black woman in an often dangerous world. Divided into four sections--girlhood, neighborhood, falsehood, and womanhood--the book dwells on topics as wide-ranging as birthday lists, the winter of 2020, fried chicken and watermelon, reparations, and fake IDs. An accomplished performer, Mottley narrates her own work with a near palpable fury and grief. She infuses "Elijah McClain's Last Words" with gentleness and sorrow for a young man whose thoughts run like a stream, "I'm an introvert // I'm just different // I don't eat meat." When speaking to the strength it takes for Black women to keep the sadness, exhaustion, and pain at bay, she announces, "so if I let you see a tear drip / if I let you see my teeth chatter / know you are witnessing a miracle." VERDICT Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, this brief collection of poems speaks volumes and merits much relistening. Poetry is meant to be heard, and Mottley's voice resonates.--Sarah Hashimoto
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Leila Mottley, poet laureate of Oakland, California, delivers her poetry collection with unabashed energy. She addresses the cultural nuances of womanhood, Blackness, love, and futurism. Her narration is vibrant, rhythmic, clear, and straightforward. There are dramatic moments--for example, her use of repetition in the final poem when she says the word "resurrect" repeatedly as a mantra that brings her thoughts together. Although there is a sense of reparations and revivalism throughout this collection, these points are brought home in the last poem in an explosive manner. Mottley's vivid new voice offers a provocative rawness that transforms ways of thinking and speaking about culture, life, and identity. T.E.C. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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