All Of It (WNYC): Leila Mottley’s Debut Poetry Collection

Air Date: April 23, 2024
Host: Kusha Navadar (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Leila Motley

Episode Overview

In a thoughtful, reflective conversation, Kusha Navadar interviews 21-year-old author and former Oakland Youth Poet Laureate, Leila Motley, about her debut poetry collection, Woke Up No Light. The episode, recorded in honor of National Poetry Month, explores Motley's evolution as a writer, how her poetry and prose intersect, the influence of form and history in her work, and the emotional terrain she traverses as both a poet and novelist. Motley shares and discusses several poems, offering listeners rare insights into the creative process and her personal, historical, and cultural inspirations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to Leila Motley and Her Work [00:40-02:03]

• Motley’s debut poetry collection, Woke Up No Light, follows the much-acclaimed novel Nightcrawling.
• The host highlights Motley's early start as a writer and her numerous accolades (Oprah’s Book Club pick, Booker Prize longlist at age 20).

Motley's Poetic Themes and Artistic Evolution [02:03-05:29]

• Motley reads "How to Love a Woman Sailing the Sky" [02:10-03:11]
• Themes of change, desire, and coming-of-age:
  • The collection reflects Motley's journey “through childhood and into adulthood and all of the change and turmoil that comes with growing up.” [03:21]
  • The poems stem from various periods in her life, some dating back to age 15 or 16.
  • Reflects on writing style changes: “When you’re a teenager, everything’s heightened... a lot of scribbling. And now, like, I’ll take my time with it... more contemplative.” [04:44-05:09]

Poetry’s Relationship with Prose [05:29-07:55]

• Motley began writing poetry at age six and novels at 14, always seeing both forms as separate but intertwined.
• She emphasizes the mutual influence of prose and poetry: “My fiction kind of shows up in my poetry at times. And my poetry definitely shows up in the way that I write prose.” [05:58]

The Insular Nature and Power of Poetry [07:55-09:01]

• Motley describes poetry as “insular” and “kinetic,” a medium to quickly convey complexity and emotional intensity.
• She highlights poetry's suitability to contemporary attention spans while maintaining depth: “In a TikTok world… we need to consume something and understand it emotionally in a short period of time. And poetry allows us to do that, and it doesn’t reduce its complexity either.” [08:15]

Historical Recovery and Form: Erasure Poetry [09:01-13:11]

• Motley reads "My Greatest Grandmother’s Will," an erasure poem [09:01-09:55]
• Erasure poetry is explained as a process of creating a new text from existing material by blacking out words.
• Motley traced her ancestor through enslaver records: “The archive doesn’t allow a lot of space for really any information about... Black people, black enslaved people.” [10:43]
• Intention: To grant ancestral voices “the ability to speak through time” and restore humanity to dehumanized historical records. [11:11]
• Discusses playing with poetic form: scattering words, columns, and visual distribution to reflect gaps and visibility in the archive: “We need to be able to see the invisible space in order to understand what it means to occupy it.” [13:04]

The Influence of Jazz, Improvisation, and Tradition [13:28-16:22]

• Motley frames poetry’s unpredictability as essential, akin to jazz improvisation.
• Influence of writers such as Ntozake Shange and Sonia Sanchez, and the concept that in poetry, “there are no limits... you get to really do whatever you want.” [14:38]
• Motley discusses the need to know conventions before breaking them: “You have to know the convention to break it, right?” She emphasizes being a reader, an audience, and absorbing emotional resonance as key fundamentals. [15:36-16:22]

Poetry in Practice: Writing, Form, and Personal History [16:22-20:36]

• Motley reads "On Starting Over" [16:30-18:35]
• The poem captures the tension of beginning anew while haunted by the past; built from merging two separate poem fragments for a “worlds colliding” effect. [18:54-19:36]
• Reflects on the autobiographical inspiration for this poem—moving and feeling discomfort in unfamiliarity, a metaphor for growing up: “Every time I move... you almost feel like you don’t know where you are that first night that you're in a new place. And I think that's a lot of what growing up is, is like being in this world and realizing there is no other home and the kind of out-of-body experience that that is.” [20:36]

Building Community and Poetic Lineage [21:04-22:27]

• Motley cites current influences: Mahogany L. Browne, Danez Smith, Ocean Vuong, Eve Ewing. [21:22]
• The communal dimension of poetry: “Poetry especially is a communal art form. If you’ve ever gone to any poetry event, like it’s an experience...” [21:59]
• The unique experience of sharing poetry live: “You really get to sit in the space and feel everything in a way that you can’t from the page itself.” [21:59]

Notable Quotes

• On artistic growth:
  “When you’re a teenager, everything’s heightened... it was a lot of scribbling. And now, like, I’ll take my time with it. I feel like I have more time to... really soak in and sink into the work and think about it in its dualities.”
  — Leila Motley [05:09]

• On the collection’s purpose:
  “This collection was a way for me to kind of capture my entire journey through childhood and into adulthood and show all of the change and turmoil that comes with growing up.”
  — Leila Motley [03:21]

• On poetry’s power:
  “Poetry is more insular... kinetic and it’s vibrational and we feel it... poetry allows us to [feel something emotionally in a short period of time], and it doesn’t reduce its complexity either.”
  — Leila Motley [08:15]

• On erasure poetry and historical records:
  “The archive doesn’t allow a lot of space for really any information about Black people, black enslaved people. So I went to the enslaver’s records and found my ancestor’s name in it and took that will and created this poem to give her kind of an ability to speak from the past.”
  — Leila Motley [10:44]

• On poetic form and visibility:
  “We need to be able to see the invisible space in order to understand what it means to occupy it.”
  — Leila Motley [13:04]

• On breaking form:
  “You have to know the convention to break it, right? ...To do that, you have to understand... what it means to be the audience and to be the listener and to be the reader and to have a feeling brought up in you.”
  — Leila Motley [15:36]

• On poetry and community:
  “Poetry especially is a communal art form. If you’ve ever gone to any poetry event, like it’s an experience. It’s fun, especially during poetry month.”
  — Leila Motley [21:59]

Poems Read & Discussed

• "How to Love a Woman Sailing the Sky" [02:10-03:11]
  Echoes change, desire, and the journey to trust and love.

• "My Greatest Grandmother's Will" (erasure poem) [09:01-09:55]
  Constructs ancestral voice from the enslaver’s records, addressing erasure in history and archives.

• "On Starting Over" [16:30-18:35]
  Explores reinvention, the residues of the past, and the emotional experience of moving forward while carrying what came before.

Additional Highlights & Resources

• Motley is featured in a live Poetry Night with Tatiana Johnson Borea at Books Are Magic (Brooklyn) [Reference: 00:40, 06:34, 22:27].
• She reflects on influential poets (Mahogany L. Browne, Danez Smith, Ocean Vuong, Eve Ewing) [21:22].
• The episode offers rare, extended readings and thoughtful process commentary for poetry enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

This episode is rich in introspection, literary craft, and cultural resonance, making it both a celebration of poetry and an intimate glimpse into Leila Motley’s emergent and powerful voice.