Emory University invites you to attend this FREE public event on Saturday, April 18th at 2 p.m. for a powerful poetry readings and conversation with acclaimed National Book Award Finalist Danez Smith, this year’s distinguished poet for the Raymond Danowski Library Poetry Reading.
Smith is the author of four celebrated poetry collections, including Don’t Call Us Dead, Homie, and most recently, Bluff. They also curated Blues In Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes. Their work has been recognized with 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. Smith has also been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the National Book Award, and has received an array of grants, fellowships, and residencies, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the Princeton Arts Fellowship.
In addition to their writing, Smith teaches in the Randolph College MFA program and at the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul. They currently live in Minneapolis with their people.