WOKE UP NO LIGHT poems

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 [Published: JUNE 2024]