A Breath of Fresh Air Poetry Scholarship

---

 " If I were to start a riot, I'd graffiti the streets with the words of Fresh Linen. A brutally honest and refreshingly open look at his life and the world that surrounds him. Fresh is a writer's writer and a poet's poet. I invite you to take this journey with him into stories of reflection, projection, suppression and transparency. "

 " Fresh Linen’s first book, “Before the Streetlights Come On” expresses nostalgia, beauty of the mastery of words, with the deftness of his pen. We find out who he is through this poetry book and the magnificent way he handles words like a lyrical magician. One of the most astounding things to behold with this poet is the vulnerability that he allows you to see so fully inside him. You will want to run with him and catch today before tomorrow comes “Before the Streetlights Come On.” "

" Poignant. Prophetic. Prolific!

"Before the Streetlights Come On" is an outstanding set of poetic observations on love, life, and living through the many circumstances of being a Black male in America. Fresh Linen provides personal insight with an intelligent perspective on growing up and going through. The poems are love letters to the experiences of Fresh Linen and the experiences of so many young people growing up in inner cities across the globe.

Poems like "Mama Bear" and "Dear Black Boy" showcase his ability to create technique in free form. While "Limitless" and "Heartbreak on Reverb" showcase his ability to gut punch your brain with just a few iambic expressions.

Regardless of your racial background, socioeconomic class, or the neighborhood in which you were reared, every man (and woman or person) can identify with the emotion in Fresh Linen's writing. "Before the Streetlights Come On" allows you to engage your feelings and reflect on what it was like to be young and learning to navigate the world on your own, while under the purview of those magnificent beings we call parents.

Sit back and grant yourself permission to enjoy reliving some of the best, most interesting, and most compelling moments of being young and fresh, enjoying life while absorbing "Before the Streetlights Come On." "

"  Many wonder off in the streets of curiosity. Curious of what’s on in the pre-judged and profiled black part of the neighborhood. Curious of how much greener the grass of a man is. Curious of what’s out the window of a creative in battle with choosing between gifting the truth or selling the lie of system he seems to be trapped in. After reading this masterpiece of a book, I felt that many of my emotions as a black man, as a creative, as a person were captured. The lenses used to capture the vision that is Fresh Linen are so vivid, so imaginatively real, you won’t need a third eye to view this mental picture. Fresh Linen has successfully invited me into his life, gave me a tour and left me with a goody bag after reading this. From finding himself, to finding himself with in others. From abusive love to self-love. This book was everything I needed. Truly a must read.   "

 " “Before the Streetlights Come On” is a thought-provoking revelation of life through the eyes of Fresh Linen. The expressions shared will graciously and amazingly bring hope to the heart and mind of the reader. The title sets the platform as it relates to love, hope, dreams, pain, memories and vision. Fresh Linen is a young man who decided to reveal his real-life experiences from the deep soul of his life to help nurture others as they experience breathing fresh air. His unique God-given talent has allowed him to share his compelling and life worthy messages as a writer because of his love for life which involves good and bad. As he shares and paints the picture of real-life issues through expressed words, it opens his soul to reveal the unique hope of receiving deeper aspirations while reaching a new level for achievements in the future. Each poem will inspire you to look in the mirror of your own soul and search for the unique light in your life. As for me, this book reminded me of God’s promise found in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It all begins “Before the Streetlights Come On.”  "

 "  Fresh Linen turns phrases, with every turn of the pages.  And can we just talk about the titles of each chapter for a minute?  The titles of each of these chapters alone embody the spirit of this well-written piece of art which takes me back to simpler times during my youth that made me reminisce and smile.  The streetlights are a huge symbol for every child bathed in black culture.  We knew what that symbol meant, what it still represents to young children we see today, and what it will mean for future generations.   

I knew all too well not to test my theory too many times of not making it home before those blaring lights blinked, “time’s up...we missed curfew” and my mother commenced to showing me what her belt do. 

Fresh Linen creates art, and this time was no different.  His pen eloquently tells the stories that reside in every person, young and old, who each had a time in their lives when they were just trying to make it home...before the streetlights come on. 

Before the Streetlights Come On is an oftentimes bittersweet walk down memory lane—a walk that made me more in tune with each emotion as I laughed, smiled, and reflected on each stage of my life, from the vivid innocence of my childhood growing up in the Lowcountry in South Carolina, my awkward, repeatedly turbulent coming of age, and the confusing and uncertain changes and perils of early adulthood. 

This book is a positively convincing, memorable relic that will live and shine within me and countless other humans from all walks of life, for years to come. "