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Kwame Alexander’s Light for the World to See: A Thousand Words on Race and Hope (Mariner Books, 2020) is a collection of rap-style poems that challenges the pre-determined “normal” of what poetry should look like. The poems in this collection are arranged across several pages. The design aspect is unique and colorful, furthering the meaning behind Alexander’s words.
Alexander’s book is a short but powerful collection of easy-to-read poems. Alexander makes a nod to the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, furthering the impact of his message, lifting his voice to, “say something... about racism, about Black triumph, about solidarity.”
Debuting during the Black Lives Matter movement, this book adds a voice to the many others speaking on this important issue. Alexander questions whether his words are “strong enough to carry this weight” of racial injustice. It is safe to say that Alexander’s poetry is definitely strong enough to carry its weight.
Alexander is a poetry and children fiction writer with twenty-eight published books. Light for the World to See: A Thousand Words on Race and Hope was published in the latter half of Alexander’s career. Find out more about Kwame Alexander on his website https://kwamealexander.com.
Jaylee Sorenson
Jaylee currently attends Utah Tech University. She is pursuing a bachelor's in Graphic Design with a minor in Creative Writing. She has a poem published in the Southern Quill 2021 edition and an artwork piece published in Route 7 Review Issue 10. She has three younger sisters who she loves. She loves to run and ran collegiately for two years. Jaylee loves playing ultimate frisbee with her friends and is always down to go out and take pictures with her camera; she looks forward to improving her skills in all of her hobbies.