Backlit

by Liz Robbins

In Backlit, Liz Robbins pulls us beneath the fluorescence of a Florida night, where palms sway in the wind and the air thickens with danger. These poems speak in the raw voices of sex workers who navigate power plays like intersections, where every choice costs something and trust is both weapon and wound. Along the strip motels and sun-bleached parking lots, fear hums under the skin, and each transaction teeters between endurance and surrender—measured in minutes, cash, and control. Robbins makes beauty out of this tension, her poems burning with heat and exhaustion, lit by the fragile voltage of power, risk, and the constant gamble of survival.

Genres: Poetry

44 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2025

Reviews

[Carrie Cantalupo-Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sex workers in brutal but real world. She did her homework well. I’m going to now re-read it and read her other works.

[Peter Longden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This chapbook came with the latest edition of Rattle poetry. It is remarkable - insightful, chapbook of poems based on interviews with sex workers telling of their extraordinary experiences. The collection shows that poetry is not just for its own sake but to challenge perceptions and offer a platform on which real life can be presented. Liz Robbins does this to great effect.

[Elizabeth Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just learned the term Dirty Realism, defined by Jimmy Pappas as “a North American literary movement that began in the 1970s and '80s. It depicts the mundane and often bleak aspects of ordinary life using a spare, unadorned, and minimalist writing style.” Think Springsteen or the movie Nomads. Think Liz Robbins. These poems were elegant and stark, honest and matter-of-fact. There are a lot of women living these stories. I loved the voice and the different layouts. An excellent addition to a really strong series.

[SimpleCrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but visceral exploration of sex work through poetry. By the nature of the topic, contains a lot of sexual content, for those who want to avoid it, but I never felt the sexual imagery to be excessive. Every line and stanza earns its place in the collection. This chapboook is an excellent example on how to write about difficult and mature subjects without descending into flanderization.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voices of whip-smart prostitutes speak through poems that strike me as technically perfect, and offer acute observations of any given transaction with a john or a pimp. There's a lot to absorb.

[Shelly Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really unusual and obviously, the author researched and interviewed many sex workers. It felt very realistic and offered me a new perspective.