It won’t be a bullet

Danez Smith originally published “it won’t be a bullet” as part of their book Don’t Call Us Dead, released by Graywolf Press in 2017. Smith prefers the pronouns “they/them,” to which this study guide will adhere. They are well known in the literary community as a poet of both academic and popular acclaim. In addition to being an established writer, they are also a performer and co-host of the podcast “VS” with Franny Choi. Smith’s work often deals with complex and relevant social issues like violence and injustice against African Americans, being gay, and social justice issues. However, their poems often use humor and wit, drawing on pop-culture figures and tropes to explore complex themes. Some have identified their work as Afrofuturism, a genre that combines topics of African American history with tropes of science fiction. Many of Smith’s poems pose hypothetical, often better worlds for African Americans and others.

Smith is considered a leading voice of the “Golden Age” of poetry, a resurgence of public interest in the poetic arts, specifically among young people and people of color. In “it won’t be a bullet,” Smith discusses the “catalogue of ways to kill a black boy” (Line 4) and explores their own identity as an African American man, a gay person, and an HIV positive member of the Queer community.