Francis Otole

Review of Chants of the Black Woman by Francis Otole

Francis Otole's Chants of the Black Woman is a luminous, lyrical, and lovingly-crafted tribute to the beauty, resilience, and divine essence of Black womanhood. Across fifty potent poems, Otole lifts the voice of the African woman from the margins to the center, treating her with the reverence of a muse, the awe of a goddess, and the celebration of a cultural icon.

Aesthetic of Celebration and Resistance

From the opening lines of "Most Divine" to the closing affirmations of "Sun Borne," the collection is a sustained praise-song that draws inspiration from African oral traditions, biblical cadences, romantic lyricism, and the spirit of Negritude. Otole crafts each poem as a chant—meant not just to be read, but to be recited, heard, and felt.

In poems like “Melanin Essential,” “Black Magic” and “The Black Woman is Art,” the Black woman is not only praised for her physical beauty, but elevated as a metaphysical symbol of vitality, creativity, and spiritual power. The metaphorical richness is profound—sun, moon, fire, flora, and cosmic energy all converge to paint her image as one both earthly and ethereal.

A Voice Rooted in Culture and Conviction

Otole’s deep cultural rootedness comes through in his references to Nubia, traditional hairstyles like chuku, local aphrodisiacs, and the musicality of African names and landscapes. His voice is unapologetically Afrocentric and assertively male, positioning himself as the Black woman's devoted “woo man”—a role he embraces with tenderness and zeal.
His language is intentionally evocative, at times erotic, but never objectifying. Rather, he seeks to reclaim Black beauty from the gaze of colonialism, racism, and gender bias. Lines like “Your skin shade of night / Brings everything to light” exemplify how Otole turns historical insult into poetic exaltation.

Myth, Nature, and Divine Femininity

Nature is more than setting in these poems—it is a participant. From "Wild Rose" to "Sunflower" to "Tropical Rose," flora is intertwined with femininity, making the Black woman an extension of the earth’s cycles and beauty. In "Muse to Every Song" and "Scars Like Stars," her pain is neither hidden nor romanticized; it is acknowledged and transfigured into art.
The collection also bears the influence of mysticism and spiritual symbolism. The Black woman becomes muse, gospel, oracle, even a living scripture. The poems ring with invocations, affirmations, and sacred metaphors that elevate the Black woman’s body.