Description
“Danez Smith’s is a voice we need . . . . This is a mighty work and a tremendous offering.” (Tracy K. Smith)
Donโt Call Us Dead opens with a heartrending sequence that imagines an afterlife for black men shot by police, a place where suspicion, violence, and grief are forgotten and replaced with the safety, love, and longevity they deserved here on earth. Smith turns then to desire, mortalityโthe dangers experienced in skin, body, and bloodโand a diagnosis of HIV positive. โSome of us are killed / in pieces,โ Smith writes, โsome of us all at once.โ Donโt Call Us Dead is an astonishing collection, one that confronts America, where every day is too often a funeral and not often enough a miracle.