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Bluff: Deleted Poems
Deleted Poems from Danez Smith's Bluff
- GenresPoetry
27 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2024
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Danez Smith
28 books1,147 followersDanez Smith is the author of [insert] boy (2014, YesYes Books), a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America. Their 2nd collection will be published by Graywolf Press in 2017. Their work has published & featured widely including in Poetry Magazine, Beloit Poetry Journal, Buzzfeed, Blavity, & Ploughshares. They are a 2014 Ruth Lilly - Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellow, a Cave Canem and VONA alum, and a recipient of a McKnight Foundation Fellowship. They are a 2-time Individual World Poetry Slam finalist, placing 2nd in 2014. They edit for The Offing & are a founding member of 2 collectives, Dark Noise and Sad Boy Supper Club. They live in the midwest most of the time.
Danez was featured in American Academy of Poet's Emerging Writers Series by National Book Award Finalist Patricia Smith. Like her, Danez bridges the poetics of the stage to that of the page. Danez's work transcends arbitrary boundaries to present work that is gripping, dismantling of oppression constructs, and striking on the human heart. Often centered around intersections of race, class, sexuality, faith, and social justice, Danez uses rhythm, fierce raw power, and image to re-imagine the world as takes it apart in their work.
Danez was featured in American Academy of Poet's Emerging Writers Series by National Book Award Finalist Patricia Smith. Like her, Danez bridges the poetics of the stage to that of the page. Danez's work transcends arbitrary boundaries to present work that is gripping, dismantling of oppression constructs, and striking on the human heart. Often centered around intersections of race, class, sexuality, faith, and social justice, Danez uses rhythm, fierce raw power, and image to re-imagine the world as takes it apart in their work.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 21, 2024
Danez Smith is my favorite contemporary poet. Everything they publish, I preorder and then read. After two years of artistic silence, they finally came out with their newest poetry collection, Bluff, in August of this year (2024). I loved Bluff a lot and gushed about its rawness and honesty in my review!
Those who've read Danez's newest poetry collection know that one of its poems, "Metro", was not printed in the book (due to formatting issues). We instead were blessed with a QR code that not only took us to an online version of "Metro" but to a whole PDF with twenty (!!) deleted poems of Danez's that didn't make it into Bluff. What??? Being the obsessed super fan that I am I, of course, immediately read the PDF but then went out of my way to have it printed and bound. I need everything they ever wrote in a physical format.
Though I understand why most of these poems didn't make it into the final version of Bluff, as they're significantly weaker, these deleted poems were a joy to read through nonetheless. Favorite poems include: "my deepest & most ashamed apologies to Assotto Saint", "my body is a country & i built a wall around it", "Ooooh, you look like", "Central High School" ,"nine means no in German", "[cancer's reveal was him in the tub]" and "Love poem (revision)".
My favorite quote comes from "[cancer's reveal was him in the tub]", the poem in which Danez both reckons with their grandpa's cancer journey as well as his domestic abusive nature: "he never beat anyone after that. / not even cancer. / my boy was so beautiful & kind / when losing, once lost."
And though many of the poems feel less polished than the ones from the final version of Bluff, Danez's poetic voice shines through through all of them. They just fucking rock, and I would recognize their poetry any time, any place. I just love it that much!
Those who've read Danez's newest poetry collection know that one of its poems, "Metro", was not printed in the book (due to formatting issues). We instead were blessed with a QR code that not only took us to an online version of "Metro" but to a whole PDF with twenty (!!) deleted poems of Danez's that didn't make it into Bluff. What??? Being the obsessed super fan that I am I, of course, immediately read the PDF but then went out of my way to have it printed and bound. I need everything they ever wrote in a physical format.
Though I understand why most of these poems didn't make it into the final version of Bluff, as they're significantly weaker, these deleted poems were a joy to read through nonetheless. Favorite poems include: "my deepest & most ashamed apologies to Assotto Saint", "my body is a country & i built a wall around it", "Ooooh, you look like", "Central High School" ,"nine means no in German", "[cancer's reveal was him in the tub]" and "Love poem (revision)".
My favorite quote comes from "[cancer's reveal was him in the tub]", the poem in which Danez both reckons with their grandpa's cancer journey as well as his domestic abusive nature: "he never beat anyone after that. / not even cancer. / my boy was so beautiful & kind / when losing, once lost."
And though many of the poems feel less polished than the ones from the final version of Bluff, Danez's poetic voice shines through through all of them. They just fucking rock, and I would recognize their poetry any time, any place. I just love it that much!
Displaying 1 of 1 review