dayliGht

"[dayliGht] brings to life the complexities of coming of age in a heteronormative, white supremacist, gender-policing society. It is potent and sharp, abundant and grand. This one will grab you, and it will stay in your body long after you’re done reading."—Sarah Neilson, Literary Hub

“dayliGht has a singular, potent, and persistent swagger—like if KRS-One had written Stone Butch Blues. In this tear-jerkingly matter-of-fact collection, Roya Marsh doesn’t propose an escape of past traumas but rather, sits in the cut, ponders, and comes back with her lyrical gun cocked, ready to even some shit up. This butch is so done with your bullshit, and this is her book of receipts. dayliGht is a breakthrough masterpiece. I can’t stop crying, and I won’t stop crying. Get. Into. It.”—Brontex Purnell, Whiting Award winner and author of Since I Laid My Burden Down

“Saturated with wit, wonder, and heartbreak, dayliGht is an intimate collection that is relentless in its examination of the intersections of womanhood, queerness, and Blackness. A brilliant debut book of poems.”—Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award-winning author of The Poet X

“Roya Marsh’s debut is at turns gripping, angry, and joyful—and always powerful. I love these poems for the small wonders I find in each one. In comparing her mother’s cancer to gentrification, for example, she reveals much about both. These poems are crafted out of a love for self and for the selves that might grow when given a chance to heal. dayliGht is a revelation.”—José Olivarez, author of the PEN/Jean Stein Award–nominated poetry collection Citizen Illegal

“Polyphonic and rhythmically dense, Roya Marsh’s poetry is uninhibited as she traverses her interior life and infuses the otherwise mundane settings with peril, delight, and wonder. dayliGht is a read that cannot be swallowed whole but must be taken in measures to appreciate how each poem births another with a difficult yet admirable strength.”—Morgan Jerkins, The New York Times–bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing