Bullet Points

“Bullet Points” is a lyric poem by American poet Jericho Brown that appears in his third collection, The Tradition (2019). Written in 2015, the poem first appeared online on Buzzfeed and was inspired by news reports. Brown has noted in several interviews that as a Black man, he was compelled to write “Bullet Points” as a message to his mother after being traumatized when several people of color died while they were incarcerated or detained by the police (See: Further Reading & Resources). After George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, causing protests nationwide, “Bullet Points” was posted on social media as a response to the incident. The poem went viral, enhancing Brown’s reputation as a poet who writes powerfully about the problems of contemporary society.

Brown’s three collections—Please (2008), The New Testament (2014), and The Tradition (2019)—have all been well received. The poems in each volume touch on myth and religion, racial inequality, Brown’s history as an abused child, and being a gay man living with HIV in the United States. In 2020, The Tradition received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Poet Biography

Brown was born Nelson Demrey III, in Shreveport, Louisiana, on April 14, 1976.