Alternate Names for Black Boys by Danez Smith
Alternate Names for Black Boys
Danez Smith1. smoke above the burning bush
2. nemesis of summer night
3. first son of soil
4. coal awaiting spark & wind
5. guilty until proven dead
6. oil heavy starlight
7. monster until proven ghost
8. gone
9. boy
10. phoenix who forgets to un-ash
11. god of shovels & black veils
12. what once passed for kindling
13. fireworks at dawn
14. brilliant, shadow colored coral
15. (I thought to leave this blank
but who am I to name us nothing?)
16. prayer who learned to bite & sprint
17. a mother’s joy & clutched breath
MARGINALIA
1.
Day 15 of The Sealey Challenge. Today’s offering is [Insert] Boy by Danez Smith.
2.
I love the honesty in this book. It talks about a world where identity is constantly in flux, where labels are imposed and how that creates wounds. Ultimately there is a desire to dismantle what has come before us.
3.
What an unflinching exploration of how it is to live in a world that is quick to pass judgment and misname and unname one’s being and becoming. The poet pulls no punches—his words hit hard, revealing the layers of pain, resilience, and complexity that come with navigating a society that often feels hostile and unwelcoming.
4.
What does it mean to move through our various identities, and do they all carry the same weight. The poet gives voice to who he is—Black, queer, son, lover—each title carrying its own set of expectations and challenges. The poems don’t shy away from the difficult truths, and in doing so, I feel the urgency and almost violent need to find and claim your space—to resist and persist against erasure.
5.
The poems are also shaped as conversations with the reader, with the world, with God—each line a question, a challenge, a plea. I always find vulnerability to be a strength, and oh how this book fiercely embraces that—a refusal to be silenced.
KEEP READING
![[Insert] Boy by Danez Smith](https://readalittlepoetry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BOOKCOVER-InsertBoy-257x300.jpg "Alternate Names for Black Boys by Danez Smith • Read A Little Poetry")
SOURCE
This poem appeared in [Insert] Boy by Danez Smith, published by YesYes Books, 2014. Shared here with profound gratitude.
DESCRIPTION
“”The poems of [INSERT] BOY have need of the body—desire it and lament its mortality—but over and again they 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. This is a lovely, voice-driven book, singing high notes sharp as a switchblade.”—Jericho Brown
“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”
ENDNOTES
- Read more poems by Danez Smith • Find books by this poet • Or view my library
- Explore other works in pursuit of: being named • identity • the self • Or browse the index
- This is part of The Sealey Challenge.
DEAR READER
This little corner of the world is my passion project since 2005. My commitment is that it will always remain free to all. If this place holds meaning for you, would you consider supporting it? This can be in the form of a cup of coffee (+ other ways).
Note that Read A Little Poetry may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through any links on this site. It is at no additional cost to you and helps in the upkeep of this space.
Thank you for being here all these years—and into the future—as I hold poets to the light.
