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[insert] boy
The next time someone tells you spoken word poets can’t make poems come to life on the page, send them to Danez Smith’s [insert] boy, a remarkable debut collection that puts that tired notion to bed once and for all. In these poems, Smith opens the reader to a world of desire, longing, and deep mourning that picks up where his brothers Hopkins and Whitman left off. Startling in their formal range and virtuosity, these poems interrogate the ways the body not only inhabits but actually becomes public and private space: …tonight, I am no one’s pet, maybe an animal, wounded & hungry for revenge or sympathy but what’s the difference? Danez Smith lays down the gauntlet for all of us to speak our deepest truths with more elegance, more ferocity, and almost more beauty than a reader can bear.
—Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Apocalyptic Swing, Poetry Editor for The LA Review of Books
Danez Smith is the crown prince of innovation and ferocity, a stunningly original voice that chooses not to recognize or respect those vexing artistic boundaries. Here is forte unleashed, an elicit glimpse of poetry's yet-to-be-turned page, a reason to stomp and romp in your church shoes. Hallelujah is an understatement.
—Patricia Smith, Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah and Blood Dazzler
—Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Apocalyptic Swing, Poetry Editor for The LA Review of Books
Danez Smith is the crown prince of innovation and ferocity, a stunningly original voice that chooses not to recognize or respect those vexing artistic boundaries. Here is forte unleashed, an elicit glimpse of poetry's yet-to-be-turned page, a reason to stomp and romp in your church shoes. Hallelujah is an understatement.
—Patricia Smith, Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah and Blood Dazzler
116 pages, Paperback
First published December 24, 2014
20 people are currently reading
3540 people want to read
About the author
Danez Smith
28 books1,142 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 - 30 of 125 reviews
January 6, 2015
"If I play dead, will I be acting my age?"
June 24, 2019
"Mama told you to hit anybody who hits you first. you walked outside throwing fist at air. this is how you fight the world back. vaseline making a diamond of your skin & nobody saying you're pretty. grow up, throw knuckle & metal into boys down the block or round the corner. race to make each other more ugly, less diamond, more dead. a cold black boy body is a prophecy fulfilled. you have always been a dying thing." — "For Black Boys," Danez Smith
So many of us black queer boys are born into this life with our knuckles balled and ready to fight the world. To be black and gay and hunger for love is to live a life of transactions, to sell our bodies until they are no longer ours, to roam this minefield not knowing it is a minefield. With [insert] boy, Danez Smith, one of the greatest arrivals to have landed on this earth, whispers calmly into the ears of black queer boys who age into men who have longed for the warmth of a harmless embrace — the love song of a safe and beautiful life.
Summoning the strength and sanity of their ancestors, our angels, Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, Danez paints a torrid and terrifying picture of how blackness and queerness come to fisticuffs with religion, violence, and in the deep pockets of wealthy white men, just to bear the light of another day. What an urgent masterpiece — what an encounter! — this was. Like Saeed Jones, I am honored to have found another guardian angel in Smith, and their stories will remain me until my last breath.
(Thank you once again, Dominic, for recommending this indelible body of work! I read this book in one sitting, and it nearly took me out of this coffee shop in tears because of you. <3)
If you liked my review, feel free to follow me @parisperusing on Instagram.
So many of us black queer boys are born into this life with our knuckles balled and ready to fight the world. To be black and gay and hunger for love is to live a life of transactions, to sell our bodies until they are no longer ours, to roam this minefield not knowing it is a minefield. With [insert] boy, Danez Smith, one of the greatest arrivals to have landed on this earth, whispers calmly into the ears of black queer boys who age into men who have longed for the warmth of a harmless embrace — the love song of a safe and beautiful life.
Summoning the strength and sanity of their ancestors, our angels, Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, Danez paints a torrid and terrifying picture of how blackness and queerness come to fisticuffs with religion, violence, and in the deep pockets of wealthy white men, just to bear the light of another day. What an urgent masterpiece — what an encounter! — this was. Like Saeed Jones, I am honored to have found another guardian angel in Smith, and their stories will remain me until my last breath.
(Thank you once again, Dominic, for recommending this indelible body of work! I read this book in one sitting, and it nearly took me out of this coffee shop in tears because of you. <3)
If you liked my review, feel free to follow me @parisperusing on Instagram.
February 13, 2019
[insert] boy (2014) is Danez Smith's debut collection. Since I absolutely loved their later work, I knew that I wanted to support them as a poet as much as I could. I didn't have the highest expectations for [insert] boy, as I had already seen a huge jump in craftsmanship from their earlier work in Black Movie (2015) to their most recent collection Don't Call Us Dead (2017), and thus knew that Danez had a lot of growing to do as a writer. I didn't expect [insert] boy to have the same emotional punch that I am used to from their other work.
I was impressed by the sheer amount of poems in here (for once, you really get your money's worth!) and I was very happy to find some hidden gems in this collection. Overall, [insert] boy definitely isn't the strongest, but certain poems were so honest and raw, I am very happy to have read them. Danez Smith really tells it how it is. I have never read from a poet who is so unapologetically themselves and doesn't shy away from speaking about the uncomfortable parts of being human ("for this is not the first time / a white man called him a nigger / in bed, but the first time he asked him / to say it again."); it almost feels intrusive to read their work.
One poem, Mail, is a series of letters to the wife of the speaker’s white John. Many poems mix sexuality, violence, and religious language. Danez builds intensity through rhythm and repetition, as in Craigslist Hook-Ups, which begins "forgive me father, for I have called another man daddy." Another poem, Genesissy, begins with the story of "the first snap, the hand’s humble attempt at thunder" and ends with the funeral of a genderqueer child told in a series of "begats": "his aunt’s disgusted head shake / begat the world that killed / the not a boy-child." Genesissy transforms from a prose poem to free verse that bursts across the page, to the block of the final six lines that tell us the annihilation of the child defies even God. You can watch Danez perform this beautifully heartbreaking poem here.
Some of the most disturbing poems are those in which white men buy sex from Black men, and intertwine racial and sexual violence in the interaction. Danez dwells in the mouth in these poems, "a wet shelter, a soft temple," that takes in what the men are "glad to rid." Writing about these deep wounds, Danez is both explicit and lyric, as though by saying the worst of it, they can rescue the body from what it has suffered.
Frankly speaking, I thought most of the poems in [insert] boy were just fine, not bad by any means... but also not good. This is a typical debut collection for me, one in which the poet is still trying to find their voice. I am incredibly happy by how much Danez Smith has grown as a writer and performer over the years, they just keep getting better. I am beyond excited for their future projects and cannot wait to see how they'll fare dabbling into fiction writing.
I was impressed by the sheer amount of poems in here (for once, you really get your money's worth!) and I was very happy to find some hidden gems in this collection. Overall, [insert] boy definitely isn't the strongest, but certain poems were so honest and raw, I am very happy to have read them. Danez Smith really tells it how it is. I have never read from a poet who is so unapologetically themselves and doesn't shy away from speaking about the uncomfortable parts of being human ("for this is not the first time / a white man called him a nigger / in bed, but the first time he asked him / to say it again."); it almost feels intrusive to read their work.
One poem, Mail, is a series of letters to the wife of the speaker’s white John. Many poems mix sexuality, violence, and religious language. Danez builds intensity through rhythm and repetition, as in Craigslist Hook-Ups, which begins "forgive me father, for I have called another man daddy." Another poem, Genesissy, begins with the story of "the first snap, the hand’s humble attempt at thunder" and ends with the funeral of a genderqueer child told in a series of "begats": "his aunt’s disgusted head shake / begat the world that killed / the not a boy-child." Genesissy transforms from a prose poem to free verse that bursts across the page, to the block of the final six lines that tell us the annihilation of the child defies even God. You can watch Danez perform this beautifully heartbreaking poem here.
Some of the most disturbing poems are those in which white men buy sex from Black men, and intertwine racial and sexual violence in the interaction. Danez dwells in the mouth in these poems, "a wet shelter, a soft temple," that takes in what the men are "glad to rid." Writing about these deep wounds, Danez is both explicit and lyric, as though by saying the worst of it, they can rescue the body from what it has suffered.
Frankly speaking, I thought most of the poems in [insert] boy were just fine, not bad by any means... but also not good. This is a typical debut collection for me, one in which the poet is still trying to find their voice. I am incredibly happy by how much Danez Smith has grown as a writer and performer over the years, they just keep getting better. I am beyond excited for their future projects and cannot wait to see how they'll fare dabbling into fiction writing.
October 13, 2015
Thank God for good poetry. Thank God for good poetry collections that leave necessary emotion in their wake, and thank God for poets like Danez Smith, who—through his debut Lambda Literary Award-winning poetry collection [insert] boy—demonstrates that what is political should be openly approached in personal terms, and vice versa. In [insert] boy, Smith ignites a discussion about life as a queer person of color in today’s racially charged, orientation conscious society. Through the arteries of movement, music, and religious (or non-religious) experience, Smith allows us to imagine life from his perspective in a way that only the most powerfully evocative poetry can.
The collection begins simply enough. In the opening poem “Black Boy Be,” Smith compiles a list of similes that complete the sentence “Black boy be _________.” We meet a character who ranges in manifestation from “a village ablaze” to “an ocean hid behind a grain of sand” to “blood all over everything.” Within the first few lines, we effectively meet a character who represents the world. Ultimately, we come to find this sense of motion informs many of the poems in the collection. In the first “Poem in which One Black Man Holds Another,” “the black boy falls into himself / & you mourn everyone ever.” In the third poem of the sequence, the narrator “make[s] fire in the absence of storm.” In “The Black Boy & The Bullet,” “one’s whole life is a flash.” By emphasizing the fast-paced, always static nature of his narrator, Smith enhances the experience of [insert] boy’s reader by reinforcing both the urgency of his message as well as the entrancingly violent quality of the events that transpire.
Similarly, the presence of music seems to correlate with the narrator’s control over and ownership of his body. In “King the Color of Space, Tower of Molasses & Marrow,” the body quite literally becomes music—the poem begins, “I hear music rise off your skin. Each hair on your arm a tiny viola…” We also bear witness to the power of music to connect two separate bodies, as “I sing / this man in my bed all night, my mouth a loose choir / & his body a gospel…” As Smith leads us to later poems, music seems to acquire significance with regard to his relationship with God and religion. One of many examples of Smith’s approach lies in his poem “Song of the Wreckage: [So me & the boys ride out to smoke].” Smith writes:
…If there is a (or in spite of?) God
let my small brown lips know their full brown lips before I rot
let us slow dance in the moonlight &, later, from behind
let us sway until we fade into a brown & endless light.
By “slow danc[ing] in the moonlight” whether “there is a … God” or not, Smith liberates himself (and, with any hope, queer readers) from centuries of self-doubt, self-hatred, social influence and internal/external racism & homophobia in the span of one four-line stanza on the subject.
In fact, throughout the collection, Smith establishes his God character as refreshingly flawed. To Smith, God is a man who makes bets with the Devil only to see “[He] is too drunk to see that he’s down” (“Song of the Wreckage: [I’ll trouble the black corpse water…]”); God is an essence who inhabits only “in the saltiest parts of men” (“On Grace”). In fact, in his poem “Craigslist Hook-Ups,” Smith brings his “daddy”s into conversation, writing, “forgive me father for I have called another man daddy.” Through his artful merging of “daddy” roles with varying levels of masculinity, Smith not only expands his poetry to deeper critical and social appreciation, but also lends credibility to broadened conceptions of what a man (particularly a queer man, and even more particularly a queer man of color) can be.
By its very structure, [insert] boy offers a chilling glimpse of the subtle yet largely accepted social norms that perpetuate problematic aspects of the society in which we live. After all, who facilitates the change in how we refer to the narrator, and who determines the lens through which we view him? Certainly not the narrator himself; it is Smith, with each of six section headers meant to be inserted into the title—first black, followed by papa’s lil’, ruined, rent, lover, and again. By establishing a world in which the narrator simultaneously cannot control how he is portrayed and must continually either overlook or submit to the various discrepancies between his identities, Smith makes a powerful statement about the “battle nobody ever named / more than struggle”—living outside the problematically authoritative realm of whiteness in the Western world (“For Black Boys”). With any luck, his message will be here to stay.
The collection begins simply enough. In the opening poem “Black Boy Be,” Smith compiles a list of similes that complete the sentence “Black boy be _________.” We meet a character who ranges in manifestation from “a village ablaze” to “an ocean hid behind a grain of sand” to “blood all over everything.” Within the first few lines, we effectively meet a character who represents the world. Ultimately, we come to find this sense of motion informs many of the poems in the collection. In the first “Poem in which One Black Man Holds Another,” “the black boy falls into himself / & you mourn everyone ever.” In the third poem of the sequence, the narrator “make[s] fire in the absence of storm.” In “The Black Boy & The Bullet,” “one’s whole life is a flash.” By emphasizing the fast-paced, always static nature of his narrator, Smith enhances the experience of [insert] boy’s reader by reinforcing both the urgency of his message as well as the entrancingly violent quality of the events that transpire.
Similarly, the presence of music seems to correlate with the narrator’s control over and ownership of his body. In “King the Color of Space, Tower of Molasses & Marrow,” the body quite literally becomes music—the poem begins, “I hear music rise off your skin. Each hair on your arm a tiny viola…” We also bear witness to the power of music to connect two separate bodies, as “I sing / this man in my bed all night, my mouth a loose choir / & his body a gospel…” As Smith leads us to later poems, music seems to acquire significance with regard to his relationship with God and religion. One of many examples of Smith’s approach lies in his poem “Song of the Wreckage: [So me & the boys ride out to smoke].” Smith writes:
…If there is a (or in spite of?) God
let my small brown lips know their full brown lips before I rot
let us slow dance in the moonlight &, later, from behind
let us sway until we fade into a brown & endless light.
By “slow danc[ing] in the moonlight” whether “there is a … God” or not, Smith liberates himself (and, with any hope, queer readers) from centuries of self-doubt, self-hatred, social influence and internal/external racism & homophobia in the span of one four-line stanza on the subject.
In fact, throughout the collection, Smith establishes his God character as refreshingly flawed. To Smith, God is a man who makes bets with the Devil only to see “[He] is too drunk to see that he’s down” (“Song of the Wreckage: [I’ll trouble the black corpse water…]”); God is an essence who inhabits only “in the saltiest parts of men” (“On Grace”). In fact, in his poem “Craigslist Hook-Ups,” Smith brings his “daddy”s into conversation, writing, “forgive me father for I have called another man daddy.” Through his artful merging of “daddy” roles with varying levels of masculinity, Smith not only expands his poetry to deeper critical and social appreciation, but also lends credibility to broadened conceptions of what a man (particularly a queer man, and even more particularly a queer man of color) can be.
By its very structure, [insert] boy offers a chilling glimpse of the subtle yet largely accepted social norms that perpetuate problematic aspects of the society in which we live. After all, who facilitates the change in how we refer to the narrator, and who determines the lens through which we view him? Certainly not the narrator himself; it is Smith, with each of six section headers meant to be inserted into the title—first black, followed by papa’s lil’, ruined, rent, lover, and again. By establishing a world in which the narrator simultaneously cannot control how he is portrayed and must continually either overlook or submit to the various discrepancies between his identities, Smith makes a powerful statement about the “battle nobody ever named / more than struggle”—living outside the problematically authoritative realm of whiteness in the Western world (“For Black Boys”). With any luck, his message will be here to stay.
May 1, 2018
To check out my reviews: https://dancinginth3dark.wordpress.co...
I love spoken word poetry and I have discovered Danez Smith poetry multiples times both in personal and academic life. Fortunately I had to read this book for my Queer Studies class and I was in complete awe over his writing and how powerful his imagery is when talking about race, being gay, abuse, and falling in love. I have never written a review for a book of poetry and I cannot really describe into words the profound impact I've felt towards this book and Danez Smith.
Danez Smith breaks the book into sections; each has a separate theme like race, ruined, lover, etc. and yet the fluidity that flows between each poem never makes it feel like there is a discontinuity between the narrator and the reader. Even though I am not a black gay man I was still able to understand and empathize with Danez over the struggles he faces with his identity and the problems we face in this nation when it comes to race. Even though this book was published years ago it feels as though the topic he brings up is still extremely relevant in 2018 which is a huge indicator that we haven't progressed much as a society.
Raw
I've spent all day trying to come
up with a metaphor for barebacking.
I've tried face against abrupt winter,
sockless feet against velvet floors,
punching a warm beast with paper skin;
none of them work. I don't want to talk
about the risk. miss me with that
chatter about what I know is wrong. I know
the bones I could become, I know the story
& the other one too, how people disappeared
mid-sentence in the '80s, how NYC became
a haunted bowl of dust. I know the monster
waiting to pounce my blood, but I wasn't in
my right mind, I was barely in my body at all.
Some of the poems made me laugh to the brink of tears, some left me speechless, and some told beautiful stories even the ones full of pain and heartache. My favorite poems are Raw, Genesissy, Healing Attempt #3, and Mail. Danez Smith is a storyteller and I highly recommend everyone to pick up this book. It is extremely easy to read, comprehend, and a great eye opener to those who want to explore Queer literature and poetry.
I love spoken word poetry and I have discovered Danez Smith poetry multiples times both in personal and academic life. Fortunately I had to read this book for my Queer Studies class and I was in complete awe over his writing and how powerful his imagery is when talking about race, being gay, abuse, and falling in love. I have never written a review for a book of poetry and I cannot really describe into words the profound impact I've felt towards this book and Danez Smith.
Danez Smith breaks the book into sections; each has a separate theme like race, ruined, lover, etc. and yet the fluidity that flows between each poem never makes it feel like there is a discontinuity between the narrator and the reader. Even though I am not a black gay man I was still able to understand and empathize with Danez over the struggles he faces with his identity and the problems we face in this nation when it comes to race. Even though this book was published years ago it feels as though the topic he brings up is still extremely relevant in 2018 which is a huge indicator that we haven't progressed much as a society.
Raw
I've spent all day trying to come
up with a metaphor for barebacking.
I've tried face against abrupt winter,
sockless feet against velvet floors,
punching a warm beast with paper skin;
none of them work. I don't want to talk
about the risk. miss me with that
chatter about what I know is wrong. I know
the bones I could become, I know the story
& the other one too, how people disappeared
mid-sentence in the '80s, how NYC became
a haunted bowl of dust. I know the monster
waiting to pounce my blood, but I wasn't in
my right mind, I was barely in my body at all.
Some of the poems made me laugh to the brink of tears, some left me speechless, and some told beautiful stories even the ones full of pain and heartache. My favorite poems are Raw, Genesissy, Healing Attempt #3, and Mail. Danez Smith is a storyteller and I highly recommend everyone to pick up this book. It is extremely easy to read, comprehend, and a great eye opener to those who want to explore Queer literature and poetry.
April 9, 2015
This is a powerful book with a great title. [Insert] Boy is the key to reading each of the sections in the book: [Black], [Papa's lil'], [Ruined], [Rent], [Lover], and [Again] Boy.
He writes of black boys and men and of being gay. One of his well known poems is "Alternate Names for Black Boys" in which we see a broader spectrum of methaphors possible for black boys, outside the standard views from the outside, a few include: first son of soil, oil heavy starlight, a mother's joy and clutched breath. Here in the US black boys are seen as dangerous or a threat by a large amount of the population and the powers that be, the police, the government. The world is against black boys, they are under seige and this book lays it out.
He writes, "ghosts raid/my poor tongue demanding names." And in the same poem he names: Sean Bell (20 years old killed by the police outside his bachelor party the night before his wedding in 2006 in Queens, NY), Bo Morrison (20 years old killed by a homeowner in Wisconson in 2012 after complaints about a loud party), Oscar Grant (22 years old killed by the police in San Francisco in 2012), Trayvon Martin (17 years old killed by a vigilante in Florida where he was visiting a relative in 2012), and one black girl, Latasha Harlins (15 years old killed by a Korean shop owner in 1992, it was shortly after the Rodney King riots in LA, she had the money for the OJ she was going to buy in her hand). In the same poem he writes, "10 Black girls went missing & you found your keys/10 Black boys died & mama said kids these days.
This book is written as an elegy for the many losses, as a way to heal from the trauma from those losses. In the section [Ruined] Boy he has five poems that are Healing Attempt #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, yet in an interview Danez used a quote, that it is not the writing that is healing because the writing is work. So he is working hard to initiate change. He is working on himself, he is providing a template for others to see and find new stories and metaphors for their life.
I've heard him read and he is passionate, his next book will be out in 2017, he is starting an MFA program. Read this important work and do watch for his work to come.
He writes of black boys and men and of being gay. One of his well known poems is "Alternate Names for Black Boys" in which we see a broader spectrum of methaphors possible for black boys, outside the standard views from the outside, a few include: first son of soil, oil heavy starlight, a mother's joy and clutched breath. Here in the US black boys are seen as dangerous or a threat by a large amount of the population and the powers that be, the police, the government. The world is against black boys, they are under seige and this book lays it out.
He writes, "ghosts raid/my poor tongue demanding names." And in the same poem he names: Sean Bell (20 years old killed by the police outside his bachelor party the night before his wedding in 2006 in Queens, NY), Bo Morrison (20 years old killed by a homeowner in Wisconson in 2012 after complaints about a loud party), Oscar Grant (22 years old killed by the police in San Francisco in 2012), Trayvon Martin (17 years old killed by a vigilante in Florida where he was visiting a relative in 2012), and one black girl, Latasha Harlins (15 years old killed by a Korean shop owner in 1992, it was shortly after the Rodney King riots in LA, she had the money for the OJ she was going to buy in her hand). In the same poem he writes, "10 Black girls went missing & you found your keys/10 Black boys died & mama said kids these days.
This book is written as an elegy for the many losses, as a way to heal from the trauma from those losses. In the section [Ruined] Boy he has five poems that are Healing Attempt #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, yet in an interview Danez used a quote, that it is not the writing that is healing because the writing is work. So he is working hard to initiate change. He is working on himself, he is providing a template for others to see and find new stories and metaphors for their life.
I've heard him read and he is passionate, his next book will be out in 2017, he is starting an MFA program. Read this important work and do watch for his work to come.
May 2, 2018
Some of these poems I loved. Some of them I feared, although likely through no fault of their own.
For about the first half of the collection, I felt something in me soften and shift. There was a true tenderness in the lines, and especially between the lines when the stanzas were few and far between. But in the second half, I recoiled and held my breath more often than not. I reproach myself for it, but I also don't know why I feel obligated to be more receptive to stark poems about prostitution and semen. Sometimes it scares me to think that there are bodies behind these words, real ones that ache immeasurably. I guess I'll have to think on that a bit.
For about the first half of the collection, I felt something in me soften and shift. There was a true tenderness in the lines, and especially between the lines when the stanzas were few and far between. But in the second half, I recoiled and held my breath more often than not. I reproach myself for it, but I also don't know why I feel obligated to be more receptive to stark poems about prostitution and semen. Sometimes it scares me to think that there are bodies behind these words, real ones that ache immeasurably. I guess I'll have to think on that a bit.
July 12, 2020
This is a really amazing collection. Speaking on race, sex work, and American politics, almost every single one of these poems felt the need to be read at least 3 times. I cannot speak highly enough for this book. Some favorite/poignant poems are:
"& My Mother Notices Someone Else's Blood On My Hands"
"All Spring, We'd Watch Grandpa Rub His Knee And Complain About Rain"
"The Road Kill & My Body"
"The Business of Shadows"
"10 Rentboy Commandments" (respect or groceries?)
"Song of Wreckage"
"On Grace"
Some favorite/poignant lines are:
From 'For Black Boys':
"The Grim Reaper is named Ray-Ray. He's your cousin, has tears inked into his cheek because no one told him he was beautiful enough to cry. He has a talent for making ghost."
From 'iii. Step'
"I am learning to touch a man's back
& not think saddle or conquer or burn
I am learning to dance with my clothes on
to make fire in the absence of a storm"
"& My Mother Notices Someone Else's Blood On My Hands"
"All Spring, We'd Watch Grandpa Rub His Knee And Complain About Rain"
"The Road Kill & My Body"
"The Business of Shadows"
"10 Rentboy Commandments" (respect or groceries?)
"Song of Wreckage"
"On Grace"
Some favorite/poignant lines are:
From 'For Black Boys':
"The Grim Reaper is named Ray-Ray. He's your cousin, has tears inked into his cheek because no one told him he was beautiful enough to cry. He has a talent for making ghost."
From 'iii. Step'
"I am learning to touch a man's back
& not think saddle or conquer or burn
I am learning to dance with my clothes on
to make fire in the absence of a storm"
April 30, 2022
If you haven't read Danez Smith yet you should probably do that. My favourite is still Don't Call us Dead, but honestly all of their work is incredible.
February 27, 2020
I genuinely don't think I have the words to express how much I love Danez Smith's writing. I've read two of his collections so far, and I think I'm hooked for life. (And I don't consider myself a big poetry reader, either. He's incredibly accessible.)
January 15, 2020
I am not a big reader of poetry so I feel quite out of my depth. These collections just feel strong though, grappling with a world full of violence against black bodies, discussing being gay, and being HIV positive. Full of moments far outside my experience and yet reading them, the ground shook. Most of all I’m going to be forever thinking about their poem Genesissy, which imagines God in the next week after the Genesis creation myth, being fierce and grieving for the way humanity will come to disparage his queer children.
February 5, 2017
WOW
This poetry collection twists and turns, and goes very dark places, but also beautiful places.
I was expecting the parts about police brutality and the stark death rates of black men. I was not expecting the gruesome and brutal portrayals of orgies and sex work fond within some scenes.
I felt uncomfortable reading parts of this, like I was reading someone's diary.
I was extremely uncomfortable reading about the different brutal sex work acts, but I also realize that this is not a rare avenue of income within the artist and queer. I have never read about the sex work within these communities of young, queer, artists, but know it is prevalent within these communities because... life and stuff. The parts of sex work hit close to home, and made my heart ache and worry. I found myself worrying about the author and his mental state.
I remember I was in a critique and someone asked about my mental health based on the writing I had produced. I considered this a compliment, and I would also consider my worry for Smith during this poetry collection as a compliment. He was able to make me feel so personally invested in his life, that I was worried for him.
I loved the references to worship in unconventional ways like sex. The way Danez references body parts such as the mouth and bones, sweeps you into another dimension where things aren't alright and almost everything is haunted. This is a great way to empathize.
This is a gorgeous piece of work, but I would not suggest this to a casual reader or someone who is easily squeamish or offended.
This is the raw, real deal and it was amazing.
5 stars.
This poetry collection twists and turns, and goes very dark places, but also beautiful places.
I was expecting the parts about police brutality and the stark death rates of black men. I was not expecting the gruesome and brutal portrayals of orgies and sex work fond within some scenes.
I felt uncomfortable reading parts of this, like I was reading someone's diary.
I was extremely uncomfortable reading about the different brutal sex work acts, but I also realize that this is not a rare avenue of income within the artist and queer. I have never read about the sex work within these communities of young, queer, artists, but know it is prevalent within these communities because... life and stuff. The parts of sex work hit close to home, and made my heart ache and worry. I found myself worrying about the author and his mental state.
I remember I was in a critique and someone asked about my mental health based on the writing I had produced. I considered this a compliment, and I would also consider my worry for Smith during this poetry collection as a compliment. He was able to make me feel so personally invested in his life, that I was worried for him.
I loved the references to worship in unconventional ways like sex. The way Danez references body parts such as the mouth and bones, sweeps you into another dimension where things aren't alright and almost everything is haunted. This is a great way to empathize.
This is a gorgeous piece of work, but I would not suggest this to a casual reader or someone who is easily squeamish or offended.
This is the raw, real deal and it was amazing.
5 stars.
October 10, 2016
I don't think I could be any more enthusiastic right now about a book of poetry. This is one beautiful, haunting, unsettling collection of poems, and it definitely has potential to become a major favourite.
There are hints of Walt Whitman, Sylvia Plath, and June Jordan—and on top of that, Smith is a captivating spoken word artist. It was actually Smith's performance of "Dear White America" (which does not appear in this volume) that made me seek out more of their work, and I'm so glad I did. In this collection, we see Smith reflect on racism, sexual responsibility and ownership, queer identity, and a crippling masculine tradition they refuse to be a part of.
The poems span from sprawling art pieces to perfect poems for students to use as mentor texts. (I'd love to pair Sandra Cisneros' "Abuelito Who" with Smith's "All Spring, We'd Watch Grandpa Rub His Knee & Complain About the Rain.") There are actually many poems and structures here I want to share with my students, and there are plenty of poems I want to covet for myself. But all of them look beautiful on the page! I will definitely be referring to Danez Smith when I advise the slam poets I coach that there shouldn't be a divide between what some call "page poets" and "stage poets." With Smith, there is no gap at all between the two.
Watch "Dear White America" here (and then go read [insert] boy!): my link text
There are hints of Walt Whitman, Sylvia Plath, and June Jordan—and on top of that, Smith is a captivating spoken word artist. It was actually Smith's performance of "Dear White America" (which does not appear in this volume) that made me seek out more of their work, and I'm so glad I did. In this collection, we see Smith reflect on racism, sexual responsibility and ownership, queer identity, and a crippling masculine tradition they refuse to be a part of.
The poems span from sprawling art pieces to perfect poems for students to use as mentor texts. (I'd love to pair Sandra Cisneros' "Abuelito Who" with Smith's "All Spring, We'd Watch Grandpa Rub His Knee & Complain About the Rain.") There are actually many poems and structures here I want to share with my students, and there are plenty of poems I want to covet for myself. But all of them look beautiful on the page! I will definitely be referring to Danez Smith when I advise the slam poets I coach that there shouldn't be a divide between what some call "page poets" and "stage poets." With Smith, there is no gap at all between the two.
Watch "Dear White America" here (and then go read [insert] boy!): my link text
January 4, 2018
After reading Danez Smith's collection of poetry, and seeing several of his slam performances online, I am confident that my opinions on his verse and words are not needed. These words were not meant to be critiqued by a person like me. Let the four stars speak for themselves.
Thus, the following is a list of the selections that I most enjoyed in [insert] boy:
- "The Black Boy and the Bullet"
- "To My Grandfather's Prostate Cancer"
- "Healing: Attempt #2"
- "Healing: Attempt #3"
- "Poem Where I Be A Doe & you, By Effect, Are A Wolf"
- 'Chaos has long come of age' from "Song of the Wreckage"
My favorite selection was "Mail," an amazingly written set of correspondences to a wife that doesn't know what her husband has been up to.
Overall, an amazing collection that provides much to think about for this white boy. Four well-earned stars.
Thus, the following is a list of the selections that I most enjoyed in [insert] boy:
- "The Black Boy and the Bullet"
- "To My Grandfather's Prostate Cancer"
- "Healing: Attempt #2"
- "Healing: Attempt #3"
- "Poem Where I Be A Doe & you, By Effect, Are A Wolf"
- 'Chaos has long come of age' from "Song of the Wreckage"
My favorite selection was "Mail," an amazingly written set of correspondences to a wife that doesn't know what her husband has been up to.
Overall, an amazing collection that provides much to think about for this white boy. Four well-earned stars.
Read
August 22, 2019good, easy read. a collection that kinda impressed me by virtue of not being explosive or shiny; just quietly flawless. i liked that this collection was themed/chaptered. stylistically i really liked this collection !!! it was in that category of slam-ish, post-crush-ish poetry that feels like the *primary* play is in splaying out the Core of the poem as accurately as possible (expressive poetry?), as opposed to tucking it in between images such that the Core is derived by the reader connecting the dots (gap poetry)? these Cores were particularly accurately rendered, i think rendered especially legitimate to me because of the thin tonal smear of distance that left me reaching a little harder for the roil beneath; filling that in myself.
cw: racism + sexual violence
i particularly liked the poems in [lover] because i have never read poems with the viscera and violence of a bdsm-ish dynamic from a submissive perspective (they never use these terms so idk where they are at but that's the vibe i was getting). "poem where i be a doe & you by effect, are a wolf" was particularly cool, just good writing -- "baby, i want you forever this way: / fangs covered in me, moon dyed red / bouncing off front teeth, my body / only certain how to twitch, your belly / round with my joy". the poems hedging into the ambiguous erotics/horrors of race play + sex work w white clients and homophobic ones in [rent] are very painful to remember, but in the midst of reading render the experience true in this weird flavor; they're retroactive in a way that feels almost like the violence isn't over as much per se, but it is no longer surprising and has been integrated into the psyche. matter-of-fact without dissociation.
the other poem i really enjoyed in [lover] was "poems in which one black man holds another"; it captured a very hard and true thing about coming to terms with intimacy that is deep but not erotic in queer contexts ("i am learning what a brother is / how to touch & not scar or fuck" is such Big Oof tbh).
very recommend
cw: racism + sexual violence
i particularly liked the poems in [lover] because i have never read poems with the viscera and violence of a bdsm-ish dynamic from a submissive perspective (they never use these terms so idk where they are at but that's the vibe i was getting). "poem where i be a doe & you by effect, are a wolf" was particularly cool, just good writing -- "baby, i want you forever this way: / fangs covered in me, moon dyed red / bouncing off front teeth, my body / only certain how to twitch, your belly / round with my joy". the poems hedging into the ambiguous erotics/horrors of race play + sex work w white clients and homophobic ones in [rent] are very painful to remember, but in the midst of reading render the experience true in this weird flavor; they're retroactive in a way that feels almost like the violence isn't over as much per se, but it is no longer surprising and has been integrated into the psyche. matter-of-fact without dissociation.
the other poem i really enjoyed in [lover] was "poems in which one black man holds another"; it captured a very hard and true thing about coming to terms with intimacy that is deep but not erotic in queer contexts ("i am learning what a brother is / how to touch & not scar or fuck" is such Big Oof tbh).
very recommend
July 13, 2025
Jericho Brown writes that these poems “over and over again assert Smith’s seemingly religious belief that every sound the body makes, every word and wail, is only possible through connection to some other plane of existence,” and do these poems ever sing this sentiment! Smith juxtaposes the modern reality of a black, queer speaker with the biblical and mythic, making a sensuous argument for love and spiritual connection that holds safe the divine while interrogating Christianity at large and the atrocities committed in its name. “Genesissy,”for example, plays with logical argument and cosmology to grapple with how confusing this question is: If God is truly loving and good, then how can people, in His name, commit such heinous crimes against fellow humans? It captures brilliantly the confusion that can stem from wanting, as a queer person, to feel connected to the divine, to some higher power that is wholly good, while also experiencing violence at the hands of people claiming to be connected to that same divine entity. Overall, this collection moved me and is giving me much to reflect on.
February 23, 2024
read this v v last minute for my diss (with focus on ‘craigslist hook-ups’ & ‘Genesissy’). couldn’t recommend more as a poetry collection. delves into the intersectionality of queer desire beyond the romantic, and the commodification of the body ‘respect or groceries?’. a very raw & honest collection that explores racial prejudices in a nuanced way, through the lens of an almost humanised God. read a few interviews of Smith’s which explained this bond - to be created in his image is a symbiotic relationship. questions the brutalities of earthly conflicts ‘and that can’t come from God, right?’
March 13, 2018
Dear Danez Smith, Please save some talent for the rest of us. Thank you.
But seriously, I read--no devoured--DON'T CALL US DEAD in an hour, over breakfast. After picking up pieces of my mind that Smith had blown out of my head, I decided to read his first book (I had sworn off first books or at least I had sworn off reading them first, which is a policy to which I think I will continue to adhere), expecting that it might be overhyped and too spoken word for my taste. But nope. It's good. Damn good.
This kid's basically a genius.
But seriously, I read--no devoured--DON'T CALL US DEAD in an hour, over breakfast. After picking up pieces of my mind that Smith had blown out of my head, I decided to read his first book (I had sworn off first books or at least I had sworn off reading them first, which is a policy to which I think I will continue to adhere), expecting that it might be overhyped and too spoken word for my taste. But nope. It's good. Damn good.
This kid's basically a genius.
July 17, 2018
I'm trying to read more poetry, to understand and appreciate it more; so glad I read this collection. Smith's language and style are beautiful, searing, angry, evocative, subversive, inspiring; loved their descriptions and metaphors, 'Song of the Wreckage' ' King the Color of Space,' 'Genesissy,' and 'On Grace' are the top four I'll be revisiting and reflecting on. Looking forward to reading more of their work!
June 3, 2019
A 2014 collection of poetry by the poet Danez Smith who
earned an MFA from the University of Michigan and has gone
on to become a rising voice in black queer poetics. He does spoken
poetry slam work as well and the physicality of his voice in all his
work is dominant. This volume is driven by reflections on desire
and the body wanting some kind of immortality even in the face
of death. Inventive strong language declaims itself in this and later
work. A book to be reckoned with.
earned an MFA from the University of Michigan and has gone
on to become a rising voice in black queer poetics. He does spoken
poetry slam work as well and the physicality of his voice in all his
work is dominant. This volume is driven by reflections on desire
and the body wanting some kind of immortality even in the face
of death. Inventive strong language declaims itself in this and later
work. A book to be reckoned with.
June 3, 2017
"How many black boys stolen in the hot night? From their own homes? From their own bodies? How many black boys until we make history?"
Seldom before have I read such moving, powerful, realistic, and revealing poetry. Danez Smith succeeds in constructing a story of brutality, injustice and bigotry by choosing the appropriate words at each time, which results into a lyricism that moves and forces the reader to face a reality some prefer to ignore.
Seldom before have I read such moving, powerful, realistic, and revealing poetry. Danez Smith succeeds in constructing a story of brutality, injustice and bigotry by choosing the appropriate words at each time, which results into a lyricism that moves and forces the reader to face a reality some prefer to ignore.
December 31, 2020
Between this and Black Movie, Danez Smith has quickly become one of my go-to must-buy poets. The line "I say your name & a church lurches / from my throat" is going to stick with me for a long time. Other favorites include "Obey," "Raw," and "To my Grandfather's Prostate Cancer." This book has the ability to take gross or unpleasant concepts and render them beautiful.
December 11, 2024
I didn't spend this collection reveling in the beauty of language, and instead felt myself wanting to get through it for the most part, while occasionally thinking, "Hmph. That was a good one."
My favorite poems were:
"Genesissy" - "& on the eighth day, god said 'let there be fierce' & that's the story about the first snap, the hand's humble attempt at thunder, a small sky troubled by attitude"
The [Papa's Lil'] section, which was about his grandparents and would be good to teach as an example of a thematically aligned poetry portfolio.
"Mail", which was a fantastic revenge poem, or maybe an apology poem, but regardless made me say, "Damn," out loud while reading. Would love to teach it for form, but alas it is far too spicy for high schoolers whole-class .
My favorite poems were:
"Genesissy" - "& on the eighth day, god said 'let there be fierce' & that's the story about the first snap, the hand's humble attempt at thunder, a small sky troubled by attitude"
The [Papa's Lil'] section, which was about his grandparents and would be good to teach as an example of a thematically aligned poetry portfolio.
"Mail", which was a fantastic revenge poem, or maybe an apology poem, but regardless made me say, "Damn," out loud while reading. Would love to teach it for form, but alas it is far too spicy for high schoolers whole-class .
April 2, 2017
"If I play dead, will I be acting my age?" ("Song of the Wreckage").
August 22, 2017
Damn. Read this.
June 17, 2018
Like Patricia Smith? Rupi Kaur? Poetry set in Madison, Wisconsin? This had better be your next read.
December 20, 2018
beautiful and haunting
February 14, 2022
i liked this collection— i think smith has a style of poetry that is quick and sharp in execution but is able to leave a slow burn, like a paper cut that only starts blooming red with blood a few seconds after its swipe. i enjoyed the first half of the book very much, and as smith transitioned more into things about sex and intimacy as a gay, black man, I found it interesting, but also not exactly as refreshing/poignant as earlier poems (or maybe I was just a bit put off from the bluntness of language). either way, smith has my respect and I will continue to look for his poetry.
November 14, 2024
"if i pay my tithes & my son still ain't breathing, what i owe god?"
i love poetry & ampersands
i love poetry & ampersands
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May 31, 2022I'm reluctant to review or give star ratings to poetry, because it seems even more subjective than opinions on fiction or nonfiction (I mean, poetry has its forms and conventions, too, but I'm less familiar with them than what traditionally constitutes a good reading experience in prose). Sometimes I read a poem and I think, do I like this? I don't know. I think I do? Or do I? But why? Is poetry like comedy, that the more you try to explain it the further from its truth you get? Or maybe that is indeed just me not being terribly familiar with poetry in general.
But let me say this. This is the third book of poems by Danez Smith that I've read, and I'm always affected by his words in an unsettling, inspired, and a little self-conscious way, as I'm having strong emotional reactions to what he writes.
It's interesting.
But let me say this. This is the third book of poems by Danez Smith that I've read, and I'm always affected by his words in an unsettling, inspired, and a little self-conscious way, as I'm having strong emotional reactions to what he writes.
It's interesting.
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