“What I want people, maybe beyond anything, to understand is that we, like poems, are capable of such complex juxtaposition and complication in our feelings towards things… And I know in an anti-Black world that is so good at hating us that there is a Black-loving world out there … and in that Black-loving world that we can manifest everywhere will be a world of great, great hope and possibility where tomorrow is nourished.”
Danez Smith, Poet
BLUFF by Danez Smith (Graywolf Press 2024)
This is a book of awakening out of violence, guilt, shame, and critical pessimism to wonder and imagine how we can strive toward a new existence in a world that seems to be dissolving into desolate futures.
LISTEN
In this episode of Black Market Reads: On Health Lissa and Bukata talk with poet, Danez Smith about his fourth book BLUFF.
GO DEEPER
METRO is a poem so complex it was included on page 42 of BLUFF as a QR Code, (along with 18 other “B-side” poems). Danez offers a sneak peek at his genius but you really should buy the book. METRO owes it’s form and inspiration to the typographic experiments of the poet Jonah Mixon-Webster.
Danez reads 1955, their poem written for the anthology The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story curated by Nikole Hannah Jones.
1955 is a poem referencing Emmitt Till Learn more about how Emmitt’s legacy lives on today through the Emmitt Till Foundation.
If you’ve ever driven on I-94 through St. Paul, you traveled through an ugly chapter in the city’s history. More than 600 African American families lost their homes. Numerous businesses and institutions were also lost.
Many of Danez’s poems center around place, specifically featuring freeways. Lissa and Bukata discuss the impact of I-94 on the Rondo neighborhood and how it is reflected in Danez’s work.
What is Danez Reading?
Danez returns to Black Market Reads. Their first visit following the publication of Don’t Call Us Dead.
Listen to his conversation with Lissa here.
Our production team for this episode includes co producers/ Lissa Jones and Edie French, co-host/Bukata Hayes, technical director/Paul Auguston, The Voice/Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration/Ta-coumba T. Aiken. We thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota for supporting On Health focusing on the intersection of health, race, and culture.
Black Market Reads: On Health is a collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.