DON’T CALL US DEAD
By Danez Smith
Spoken Word can and does take us to many places. It can speak to us from a place of inspiration, of pain, of life experience, of love, of fantasy worlds. It can flow with the beauty of phrase. It can be gritty. It can fill us with hope. Most of all, poetry is personal. That being said, I bring to you Danez Smith’s poetry collection Don’t Call Us Dead.
Smith’s collection gives the reader/listener a deep dive into matters such as the illnesses of our society, the tense relationship between African Americans and the police, African American men as an endangered species, being African American and LGBT. He illustrates the struggles in the dating game for Black gay men. Though COVID has eclipsed it in the media and news, he reminds us about those living with HIV.
As I read his collection, there is another message: you may be down, but you are not out. As my pastor stated in a recent service, there is a blessing in the midst of the storm. In addressing serious issues, Smith also brings hope, speaking the truth in love.
Smith’s gifts have made room for him through many accolades, including the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. He has also received fellowships from the McKnight Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation.
Don’t Call Us Dead is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Graywolf Press.
Thank you, Danez, for the strength of your voice and the passion of your Spoken Word. If we don’t share our stories, who will?
W.D. Foster-Graham
W.D. Foster-Graham is a native son of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received a B.A. in psychology from Luther College, and he was an original member of the multi-Grammy-Award-winning ensemble, Sounds of Blackness. He has also been recognized by the International Society of Poets as one of its “Best New Poets of 2003,” is a guest writer for journalist/author/entertainer Wyatt O’Brian Evans.
