Often, anthologies in today’s modernity seek to embody a cohesive compilation of literary works that present a unified thematic focus. However, such collections are comparatively uncommon to accentuate a richly expansive ensemble of voices articulated with precision. Upon exploring Sanctuary, I was distinctly captivated to the anthology due to this breadth of narrative, offering both diversity and an array of experience. Following engagement with the poems, I was astounded by the way the anthology both challenges discrimination that often accompanies cultural diversity whilst also celebrating it – affirming lineage histories yet shedding light on the complexities exclusion face. Though anthologies predominantly adopt coherence with an overarching focal point/ conceptual structure, Sanctuary transcends past this by positioning diversity at the core of its poetic foundation, anchoring ‘difference’ itself to mould the collection’s meaning. Using multifaceted narrative and poetic voice, the collection centres on identity, acceptance and neglect, reframing diversity as the platform for the anthology’s strength. The review will hence delve into how Sanctuary’s creative texts and varied voices establish a shared insight of revelation and refuge amidst contemporary literature. It will focus on specified texts that captivated attention for their conceptual resonance, displaying how individual works collaborate to merge the anthology’s key principle.
Initially, the piece I was primarily drawn to was ‘Listen’, written by Peter Ejedewe, an English Course Director at Leeds City College, who is of Nigerian and Jamaican descent – the heritage which is heavily reflected in his writing.
Ejedewe’s ‘Listen’ strongly evokes the central message of Sanctuary. It delves into the struggle between identity, acceptance and the desire to be heard in a society that frequently supresses diversity. Through the rhythmic tone and immersive imagery, the poem reimagines everyday actions, sounds and stillness into a metaphor for resilience and a community of voice.
At the start of the piece, “Not silent/not quiet/ not absence/not alone,” immediately establishes a stance of defiance. It subverts invisibility and asserts recognition – a declaration of cultural endurance that mirrors the anthology’s focus to celebrate diversity whilst defying the prejudice alongside it. Throughout the piece, Ejedewe uses striking imagery – “crying skies”, “aching hearts” and “lost souls setting “are examples of images that portray collective suffrage and yearning. Yet the direct address to the audience at the conclusion of the poem to “Listen” serves as both an invitation and a plea to demand for justice and action, to honour and acknowledge the narratives, heritage and humanity of those in society who have been silenced.
Further, if ‘Listen’ by Peter Ejedewe were hypothetically situated in the context of the event ‘Mic Check’ (a showcase of Black poetry, spoken word and music), presented by Sanctuary’s publisher, Peepal Tree Press; alongside the Black History Month 2025 theme, “Standing Firm in Power and Pride”, Ejedewe’s ‘Listen’ would hold a particularly significant place as a powerful affirmation of Black voices, proving the poem’s layered resonance. Its rhythmic tone and emotive sentiment embody the strength, pride and enforcement that Black voices refuse to be silenced. Hence ‘Listen’ functions as both an embracement of individuality and shared declaration – recognising cultural heritage whilst confronting the pain of isolation. When considered within “Mic Check”, engagement with the audience allows spoken word performers to bring a piece of poetry like this to life as a share experiences of attentiveness and empowerment. Therefore, ‘Listen’ enacts as more than a poem; it transforms into an expression of persistence- claiming power and pride through the unwavering resonance of voice and cultural identity. Consequently, this highlights that the addition of the poem strengthens the anthology, holding the aptitude to evoke a powerful response amongst several audiences and readers.
Building on this delve of identity and expression, the poet and professor Emily Zobel Marshall introduces her poem ‘Mardi Gras Under The Freeway’, reinforcing Sanctury’s overall foresight. It encapsulates parts of the anthology’s core issue, stemming from assertion and refuge centred within areas affected by societal exclusion. The title ‘Mardi Gras Under The Freeway’ instantly sparks attention due to its capitalisation, establishing significance. Moreover, it creates a fruitful tension: “Mardi Gras” mirrors festivity and collective jubilation of cultural persistence, notably amongst Afro Caribbeans; this is juxtaposed with “Under The Freeway”, an environment integrated with negative sentiments of alienation, separation and a fleeting state. The divergence can arguably be elaborated by the context of the Mardi Gras Indian gatherings. Historically arising under an overpass named Claiborne Avenue in the city New Orleans that symbolised physical and societal estrangement – now a city-wide carnival, defined by cultural resilience. Furthermore, in sight of this historic movement, the title encapsulates a restoration of a marginalised area via cultural expression, ushering a setting for celebration and defiance.
Throughout the text, Marshall illuminates mundane activity by harnessing vivid and positive imagery. In the opening stanza, the phrase “the sunlight skids up/ from the sidewalk” and “rests on her bright orange-hand stitched/ Ankara dress” enlightens protagonist Miss Delphine and transfigures her body to a place of cosmic. The “Ankara dress” accentuates cultural fondness and pride, highlighting a cherished heritage. This ethereal, almost fairytale-like atmosphere deepens whilst “creating constellations”. This metaphor transforms prejudicial notions of the past, altering a Black stance as celestial as opposed to secondary. The imagery foregrounds Sanctury’s aim of bringing light to stories and identities that have frequently been shadowed.
In ‘Mardi Gras Under The Freeway’, Marshall’s use of enjambment throughout embodies the poems fast-paced flow and rhythm, especially during Miss Delphine’s absorption in the narrative. The lines “tricking time as it follows/ the pitching/ rhythm of the band.” empowers sound and momentum to eclipse the harsh hierarchy within the society. The hyphened phrase “traffic-done” conveys not solely the suppression of cars yet also the brief halt of the oppression they stand for. The flowing structure represents how the reclamation of control is a motion that is always persevering, and commemoration of this freedom should always be celebrated.
In the poem, the core image of dance is metaphorised and performs as a means for cultural endurance. When Miss Delphine does “the dance of Black skin worn thin”, the lexes tribute the generational trauma engulfed but rejecting the nuance of Black representation purely with adversity. Amidst the piece, there is a consequent change in perspective as “now shining/ in the blare of/ brass and thumping drums.” Shapes a shift from perseverance to recognition. Her depiction of a “seventy-year-old body/ tricking time” subverts conventional portrayals of age as decay and instead presents it as accrued strength – underscoring the anthology’s affirmation of authentic experience.
The historical context of the poem becomes increasingly more apparent as Miss Delphine “walks towards the dark od the underpass/ and the segregating highway;” The highway acts symbolically as a tool of disparity, mirroring the history of racially motivated prejudice in form of environment. However, it is also a place of joint voice as she “joins the call for freedom”. Music, significantly the “trombone wail” breaks down boundaries/ restrictions, giving bodily and collective freedom. Emily Zobel Marshall’s free-verse form allows these rights to flourish naturally, illustrating the poem’s rejection of confinement.
At the end of ‘Mardi Gras Under The Freeway’, the beginning celestial imagery recurs and therefore completes its cyclical structure. The metaphorical imagery of “she knows the stars cannot shine/ brighter than her people.” highlights the astonishment for the Black community, long refused any identification. While underscoring this, Sanctury’s central message is recuperated, refuge is less about being a purely physical place but coupled with also being about crafting meaning through memory, experience and black solidarity through voice and expression. It is a key part of Sanctuary, exemplifying pride through its radiant tone and lively language. Marshall doesn’t just reflect the basic themes of Sanctuary but empowers it, displaying that diversity serves as forces of creative and cultural empowerment instead of sources of fragmentation.
Following this, the exploration of the next poem is one that fuelled strong passion and much sentiment to me, further provoking a navigation of my own personal bilingual poetry due to the multilingual language throughout. Ginalda Tavares-Manuel’s ‘La Luz’, translated from Spanish to “The Light” primarily amplifies illumination, exposure and hope. In this piece, ‘Light’ acts both literally and metaphorically; symbolising a yearning for cultural acknowledgement, a beacon for optimism and life itself while advocating Black visibility to those bodies in society today frequently rendered as concealed. The title’s conjuring of ‘Light’ merges with the Sanctury anthology’s central ethos – holding the collection as a firm project, embracing expression within culture.
Overall, Tavares-Manuel occupies form and structure to complement the pieces core theme of sanctuary embodied through Black identity. ‘La Luz’ is written in free verse along with line breaks that emulate natural breath and flow, enjambment is further used in this poem too, which could arguably be used to show sustaining flow and a perseverance in the body acting as a sanctuary. This can be shown in the first stanza, for example, “Crack of dawn/ birth of sun/ rain of light” portrays a rhythmic progression in which reflects the texts bodily and metaphysical enlightenment. Furthermore, the interwoven languages of Spanish and Portuguese phrases like: “La Luz nos lleva” and “Ase-o, obrigada, gaias, to madre mia” doesn’t merely mirror Tavares-Manuel’s scattered ancestral heritage but additionally affirms a lexical and intergenerational resonance immersed in the poem, reigniting the Sanctuary anthology’s honour/ devotion to rendering prominence to diverse voices and expressions throughout.
In the opening lines, “my hair grows outward and towards it/ it feed to my scalp, nourishes my melanina.” Here, the poet generates a viscerally evocative image to highlight a combination of physical and divine nurturing, her Black identity emphasising self-love. The verb “nourishes” can be seen to reflect the fuel that powers her identity, linking physical light with the metaphorical sustenance of perseverance and a prideful esteem for Tavares-Manuel’s roots. Whilst reading, a phrase that captured a strong, weighted beautiful image was “Black bodies shining in grey cities like lanterns”, the simile and metaphorical language here encapsulate a network in where those of Black background merge as one to radiate light on places historically characterised by suppression. Similarly, the phrase “We are the luz that light the night” also constructs this image of honour within a Black community, showcasing a great sense of pride. Both the phrases align heavily with the anthology’s core theme of refuge.
In ‘La Luz’, Tavares-Manuel creates a motif of bathing and self-care embodying acts of empowerment and autonomy leading to a place of sanctuary. The phrases “water parting over my head/ body foamed and scrubbed at the hammam/ fresh skinned, new skinned. Healed” deciphers bathing as renewal and could arguably be a claim for catharsis whereby the poet washes away the falsified sins society framed for the Black community in history. Tavares-Manuel formulates a potent statement with “I am my own sanctuary:/ Each braid I embroider into my head/ is a gesture toward sacredness” – the first person used acts as a catalyst for agency, spotlighting the poem as a declaration of unwavering confidence and fortitude. It further foregrounds prioritising the claim for control over a person’s body as a form of defiance, establishing an assertion of identity as both tangible and metaphorical sanctuary. Consequently, mirroring the fundamental aim of the Sanctuary anthology, to generate foundations where oppressed voices are not wholly just recognised but appreciated as instruments of creativity and power.
With the repeated imagery of light and the physical pride, along with the cultural rituals i.e. “hammam” the apex of triumphant commemoration of Black culture and tenacity is birthed. Lines throughout the poem present this, like “Black is beautiful everywhere” and “We are lifted by the light” – the third person narrative culminates a collective proclamation and self-determination, bringing to light Sanctuary’s central harmony. Tavares-Manuel transfigures both ordinary and cultural rituals into manifestations of revelation and dissent, proving how diversity operates as acts of written and ethnic dominance instead of disparity.
Overall, ‘La Luz’ personifies the values of the anthology Sanctuary, combining ancestral, personal and illuminated exaltation into a piece of writing that blends both themes of festivity upon pride and defiance. Tavares-Manuel crafts a free-flowing poem full of beautiful imagery where Black identity prevails unapologetically. The text portrays Sanctuary’s primary apprehensions while strengthening them – exhibiting how contemporary literature today can often serve simultaneously as a sanctuary and a guide for neglected perspectives.
To finish the review, my focus here is on the anthology and both its title and biographies that precede each text. When reading the anthology, the title “Sanctuary” instantly evokes a feeling of safety and or refuge implementing the collection as a purposeful space intended to convey that overlooked articulates and voices can be honoured instead of supressed. This concept is accentuated by Sanctury’s inclusion of succinct biographies and photographs of every poet that provided a piece for Sanctuary before their texts. With the anthology capturing the authors’ professional accomplishments, cultural heritage, and lifetime realities beside their photographs, the collection displays pride within each of their identities and background. In doing so, this rejects the vulnerability that people may possess in society, in regard to opening conversations of race. In today’s world, especially with the rise of far-right movements i.e. the EDL, individuals can be led to a state of controlled fear, harming self-pride towards heritage – therefore the anthology sparks a refusal of any ambivalence. Alongside this, both the biographies and images make the anthology feel more direct and personal, it crafts an apprehension of comfort, allowing the readers to immerse themselves in the text on the page and the narrators behind them. The choice to include this in Sanctuary transforms it from any ordinary collection to one with deeper meaning and expression, composing a safe figurative space – where figures speak openly with honour.
In conclusion, the anthology Sanctuary unfolds as a collection that unapologetically reconstructs culture/ diversity as a compelling strength instead of a site for alienation. The variety of poetry and narratives, like ‘’Listen, Mardi Gras Under The Freeway and La Luz” along with several others – the anthology recognises marginalised perspectives, battles the conflict of oppression and largely prides itself upon cultural resilience and love.
Bibliography
Peepal Tree Website:
https://www.peepaltreepress.com/
Sanctuary:
Edited by Jacob Ross, published by Peepal Tree (October 31st, 2024)
