Danez Smith is a Black, queer writer and performer from St. Paul, Minnesota. Smith’s “Homie: Poems” (Graywolf), a collection of poems, illustrates the importance of friendship and community. Smith has won a Pushcart Prize, the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, and “[insert] boy” was a finalist for the National Book Award. Smith has been featured as part of Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list, is a member of the Dark Noise Collective and is the co-host with Franny Choi of VS, a podcast sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and Postloudness.
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