Don’t Call Us Dead – Danez Smith

Jul 29

Jul 29 Don’t Call Us Dead – Danez Smith

The last poetry I read, like any good 90s kid, was Jewel’s “A Night Without Armor.” So, I don’t have a great frame of reference for how to properly digest the raw emotion of Danez Smith’s collection that bluntly addresses discrimination, police brutality, homophobia, sexuality, HIV/AIDS and white privilege.

My inexperience reading poetry — coupled with the fact that while many of Smith’s poems share similar themes, each is its own idea — makes it difficult for me to offer a critical assessment of the work. Simply put: some poems I connected with, some I didn’t, but all had merit.

Smith’s writing is accessible, especially to novice poetry readers, but it also challenges and enlightens on each page. I’d encourage others to read this collection, especially as many of us are trying to educate ourselves on what it means to be a person of color in America.

Even though it is less than 100-pages, I wouldn’t recommend reading more than two or three poems at a time because each one demands attention to fully grasp the nuance, pain and commentary that oozes through the stanzas.

Below are a few of the poems that struck me:

dear white america: questions and challenges the beliefs of many white progressives and begs for more action.
dinosaurs in the hood: the lightest and funniest poem in the collection, while still tackling racial inequality and stereotypes in the media.
bare: heartbreaking pleas to a lover to stay forever.
fear of needles: 17 words on the denial of needing an HIV test.
it began right here: reflecting on the sexual experience that lead to Smiths’ HIV+ diagnosis. This line floored me: “the bed where it happened is where i sleep.”
every day is a funeral & a miracle: summarizes the daily struggles of queer people of color, including navigating shame, fear and homophobia.
you’re dead america: expresses the thoughts of many given our politics since 2016.
strange dowry: about finding human connection, if only for a night, when you think no one can love you as you are.