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savings time: Poems
The activist and spoken-word dynamo Roya Marsh returns with a searing exploration of Black rage, solidarity, and healing.
what will come of what you leave behind?
do you
remember that time
you survived?
The poems in Roya Marsh’s second collection, savings time, wear their raw feeling and revolutionary forcefulness on their sleeves. Alternating between confrontation and celebration, Marsh trains her unsparing eye on the twinned subjects of Black rage and Black healing with practiced, musical intention.
In poems flitting between breathless prose and measured lyricism, Marsh contemplates the contradictions and challenges of Black life in America, tackling everything from police brutality and urban gentrification to queer identity, presidential elections, and pop culture, all while calling for a world where self-care, especially for
Black women, is not just encouraged but mandated. “no one told the Black girl,” she writes, “‘see you later’ was a prayer / begging us survive our own erasure.”
As unforgettable on the page as when recited in Marsh’s legendary spoken-word performances, the poems in savings time are focused on both revolution and self-love, at once holding society accountable for its exploitation of Black life and honoring the joy of persisting nonetheless.
what will come of what you leave behind?
do you
remember that time
you survived?
The poems in Roya Marsh’s second collection, savings time, wear their raw feeling and revolutionary forcefulness on their sleeves. Alternating between confrontation and celebration, Marsh trains her unsparing eye on the twinned subjects of Black rage and Black healing with practiced, musical intention.
In poems flitting between breathless prose and measured lyricism, Marsh contemplates the contradictions and challenges of Black life in America, tackling everything from police brutality and urban gentrification to queer identity, presidential elections, and pop culture, all while calling for a world where self-care, especially for
Black women, is not just encouraged but mandated. “no one told the Black girl,” she writes, “‘see you later’ was a prayer / begging us survive our own erasure.”
As unforgettable on the page as when recited in Marsh’s legendary spoken-word performances, the poems in savings time are focused on both revolution and self-love, at once holding society accountable for its exploitation of Black life and honoring the joy of persisting nonetheless.
- GenresPoetry
113 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2025
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 29, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.
There's something about modern poetry that lacks a sense of rhythm and flow. It's not until reading a collection like this one, where you can really feel the rhythm throughout, that I notice what other collections have lacked. That lack is not necessarily a bad thing. It's a part of the author's style. But when it's done this well and with such raw emotions, it stands out for all the right reasons.
There's something about modern poetry that lacks a sense of rhythm and flow. It's not until reading a collection like this one, where you can really feel the rhythm throughout, that I notice what other collections have lacked. That lack is not necessarily a bad thing. It's a part of the author's style. But when it's done this well and with such raw emotions, it stands out for all the right reasons.
December 31, 2024
Thank you to FSG and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!
Available February 4th 2025.
Short but substantive, Roya Marsh's "savings time" packs a mean punch. The collection explores Black liberation, police violence against Black women, and every day acts of horrific prejudice in America. Yet, as Marsh herself reminds us, no one is coming to save us but ourselves and that includes making time for joyful resistance.
Available February 4th 2025.
Short but substantive, Roya Marsh's "savings time" packs a mean punch. The collection explores Black liberation, police violence against Black women, and every day acts of horrific prejudice in America. Yet, as Marsh herself reminds us, no one is coming to save us but ourselves and that includes making time for joyful resistance.
January 14, 2025
I can’t fully encapsulate the emotions I had reading this collection and how thankful I am to FSG, MCD, Netgalley, and most importantly Roya Marsh.
When I say I want authenticity, this is what I mean. When I say I want something bold, this is what I mean. Marsh doesn’t hold back and doesn’t expect the reader to either. It’s a collection that has just as much bark as it does bite and demands you listen. The level of lyricism is insane. Truly encompassing all things black. Black existence, black pain, black women, black pride, black identity, black reckoning! This is one of those collections you just simply need to pick up and then tell a friend to get a copy too.
I felt rage, I felt community, I felt liberation, and I felt seen. These poems are both a call out to violence against the black body and spirit, as well as an homage to culture, to hip hop, to black women, to black joy, to revolution, to collective action! I’m truly excited to see more readers pick this one up.
When I say I want authenticity, this is what I mean. When I say I want something bold, this is what I mean. Marsh doesn’t hold back and doesn’t expect the reader to either. It’s a collection that has just as much bark as it does bite and demands you listen. The level of lyricism is insane. Truly encompassing all things black. Black existence, black pain, black women, black pride, black identity, black reckoning! This is one of those collections you just simply need to pick up and then tell a friend to get a copy too.
I felt rage, I felt community, I felt liberation, and I felt seen. These poems are both a call out to violence against the black body and spirit, as well as an homage to culture, to hip hop, to black women, to black joy, to revolution, to collective action! I’m truly excited to see more readers pick this one up.
April 4, 2025
I say: Black Joy and I
mean,
who are you
when I start taking
what I am owed?
- Blk Rage
This collection beckons the reader to go where there is love and although I can see most of the poems in it bringing the house down at a slam poetry/spoken word event, they just don’t sparkle the same way on the page and fall flat. I wish I had an audio book of this.
mean,
who are you
when I start taking
what I am owed?
- Blk Rage
This collection beckons the reader to go where there is love and although I can see most of the poems in it bringing the house down at a slam poetry/spoken word event, they just don’t sparkle the same way on the page and fall flat. I wish I had an audio book of this.
February 25, 2025
Thank you to Net Galley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I very much enjoyed her first collection of poems and this was wonderful as well. The author has a wonderful way with words that impart meaning, power and emotion. These poems cover the anger and despair of being Black in America, police brutality and racial targeting, the every day and self-care for Black women and girls. These were a beautiful experience!
January 26, 2025
raw emotional poetry is the best. this deals with issues of being a queer black woman in the US, among other topics, but that was the main focus. had some strong imagery and unforgetable lines.
February 12, 2025
Happy Black History Month.
I feel as if I got my Black History Month reading started, reading the second book of poetry by Ny, Bronx poet Roya Marsh called savings time.
These poems make you rock and sway. They call out for you to say Amen! that's right! Go on now!
These poems are for and about the Black experience in America. They definitely have such a strong rhythm to them. These are poems you want to read out loud. You want to hear and feel the words.
I feel as if I got my Black History Month reading started, reading the second book of poetry by Ny, Bronx poet Roya Marsh called savings time.
These poems make you rock and sway. They call out for you to say Amen! that's right! Go on now!
These poems are for and about the Black experience in America. They definitely have such a strong rhythm to them. These are poems you want to read out loud. You want to hear and feel the words.
August 22, 2025
I love these poems and this poet. These poems are blunt, clear, rough, tough, gentle and brave. They speak the truth, they clear the way, they give no ground, they show faith and hope, even in despair. I’m inspired. This poet knows what they are doing. I love it.
February 6, 2025
Deeply moving. my favorite pieces were N Word and Hypersensitivity. Toya’s ability to use poetry as a narrative for pop culture and current events is nothing short of brilliant.
April 28, 2025
This book was an amazing read. Roya’s words are enough to start a revolution! This book made me question my black rage and find more of my black joy ❤️ HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
July 30, 2025
4.5 stars rounded up.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews