Lewisburg, PA, has always been the grounds for nature’s greatest phenomenons: a canvas for the astral aurora borealis, a picture-perfect palette of warm autumnal colors from the fresh fall’s foliage, and most recently, a landing tarmac for blazing stars of the midwest. Bucknell University had the honor to present poetry star Danez Smith as the Sojka Poet-in-Residence on October 8th. Danez Smith is a poet, writer, and performer hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota, who has penned three collections, including Homie and Don’t Call Us Dead. They are highly decorated in novelty and pristine with awards such as the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Danez was also a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critic Circle Award, and the National Book Award, further polishing their resume as a writer. Danez’s work has been featured in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, Best American Poetry, and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Presented by Joe Scapellato, Associate Professor of Creative Writing, at Bucknell Hall, students, and faculty congregated to hear the moving words of Danez Smtih as they read selected poems from their Bluff and Homie collection. Many of Danez’s work derives from their experience as a genderqueer Black person mapping together their identity from the remnants of colonialism’s rupture of Africa and the descendants from Africa. With poems such as “ars america (in the hold),” which brought forth a metaphysical discussion about the blame for transatlantic slavery and this ever-longing sense of displacement haunting African Americans, Danez had bewitched all listeners scattered amongst the rows and crevices of the old chapel’s corners. Their words alight with fury set ablaze the wooden walls, singeing the wafting waves of entitlement and privilege that clouded the Bucknell Bubble. This poem particularly left me with residue because it discussed the stars, a gift from God, leading humanity to the cruelty of slavery. Danez theoretically questioned if the stars are this magical entity that has coerced humanity to lead slaves onto the ships, and answered, if so, we should go back in time and kill the stars before they can do harm before the slaves board the first ship. Danez’s stage presence commanded attention with shrieks of anguish and anger, amplified by the bass of unwavering confidence and intention with the highs and lows of their tone. Bucknell was truly served an unapologetic performance of Black excellence at the hands of the wonderful Danez Smith.
They then also read a piece titled “The Last Black American Poem,” which provides commentary that the election of President Obama did not sustain as a rope of salvation for the wrongs of America onto the Black community. This piece is all the more relevant today with the ambitions of Democratic Party elect Vice President Kamala Harris and the idea that a Black President equates to America being a progressive state. Black people were still murdered unjustly, as were other people from communities of color under the Obama Administration. Obama himself was not exempt from racism even as the most powerful man in the country. Danez’s work closely follows their passion for activism. This was seen in their interactive poem titled “Poem,” which calls for the audience to shout “Free Palestine!” when called upon. “Poem” was written with fellow Palestinian writers about the genocide occurring in Palestine and its effect on the environment and the people. Before the reading, Danez acknowledged the discomfort with the name Palestine and called out the problem with ignoring the genocide and how it perpetuates cycles of white power and oppression. They even called for the audience to get louder with each chant and truly feel the words that were bouncing across the room.
Danez’s ability to represent and defend their work was inspiring, especially watching on as a fellow Black writer. Following their performance, there was a Q&A with the Bucknell students where Smith answered questions on the craft of poetry and where one can find their voice in performance poetry. After the Smith also held a Craft Talk and Workshop on Thursday, October 10th at 12 pm in the Hildreth-Mirza Great Room. Additionally, Bucknell students and writers had the opportunity to apply for a 40-minute one-on-one conference with Smith to discuss their poetry. An opportunity, which I had the pleasure of being a part of. On top of this, I also had the chance to conduct an interview with Danez for an inside scoop with the Griot Institute. Make sure to be on the lookout for that upcoming blog post with the Griot Institute Intern blog.
–Athaliah Elvis