Acclaimed poet Danez Smith reflects on poetry’s potential and poetry as a space for empathy, transformation, and collective experience.
Watch the full interview with Danez Smith on our channel.
Danez Smith (born 1989 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is an American poet, performer, and educator. Smith is the author of several acclaimed poetry collections, including Bluff (2024), Homie (2020), and Don’t Call Us Dead (2017). Their work has received numerous honors, including the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. Smith is widely recognized as one of the leading voices in contemporary American poetry, known for writing on race, queerness, love, illness, and social justice.
Danez Smith was interviewed by Caspar Eric in connection with the Louisiana Literature festival in August 2024
Camera: Simon Weyhe
Edit: Signe Boe Pedersen
Produced by Christian Lund
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2026
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