Reviews

Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith

nichecase's review against another edition

5.0

harrowing poetry centred around all types of violence - internal and external, figurative and literal, interpersonal and microbial. even though this is a slim collection, the intensity of the poems (especially when parsed as a whole) led me to put it down a couple times. i never put it down for too long - though the poems are intense, they are also revelatory; everything smith writes is so beautiful despite the subject matter (often because of the subject) that it forces a reassessment of old beliefs and priorities.

miss_majuu's review against another edition

5.0

I didn't understand or 'got' every single poem in this collection, but that's okay. Up and foremost this book isn't for me.
I hoped I still learned something from it.
The sections I loved were so incredibly powerful and important that the ones that weren't for me didn't hinder my love for this collection.
My absolute favorite sections were "summer, somewhere" and "everyday is a funeral & a miracle"
The other sections I loved were: "dear white america", "dinosaurs in the hood", "... nigga", "crown" and "strange dowry"

thepetitepunk's review against another edition

Fantastic. I’m always iffy when it comes to poetry, but this was great. I’d highly recommend the audiobook—it truly adds to the collection.

✧ ✧ ✧

≪reading 31 books for 31 days of january≫
╰┈➤ 1. all that's left in the world by erik j. brown
╰┈➤ 2. the female of the species by mindy mcginnis
╰┈➤ 3. the battle of the labyrinth by rick riordan
╰┈➤ 4. exit west by mohsin hamid
╰┈➤ 5. don't call us dead by danez smith

jess_mango's review against another edition

5.0

Counts towards the Book Riot Read Harder 2024 task #7: Read an indie-published collection of
poetry by a BIPOC or queer author

noragrace89's review against another edition

5.0

That was masterful and incredibly moving.. perfection

nanzi38's review against another edition

4.0

I listened to this on audible and it seemed more powerful hearing the poems from Danez Smith, than it was reading it. Maybe because I could hear the emotion while listening to it

dgonzo's review against another edition

I always have a really hard time rating poetry collections but this one was fantastic.

eduardtatomir's review against another edition

3.0

I thought it was beautiful. Some poems just weren’t meant for me but that’s okay. I very much felt attached to this book as a gay man.

adam75241's review against another edition

5.0

'every day is a funeral & a miracle' and 'not an elegy' — those poems back-to-back absolutely killed me. I gasped, but it was because I was holding my breath the entire time I was reading them. So good.

readwithrhys's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS POETRY COLLECTION. NOW.