CLOSE READINGS IN A VIRTUAL SPACE: with Danez Smith

This free, participatory event (taking place via Zoom) features Danez Smith, one of our favorite poets, leading an intimate, virtual group thinking-and-reading-through of a poem (TBD). Neither explicitly teaching nor explaining, our special guest poet will serve as your expert tour-guide to explore this featured poem as a group.

Whether already well-versed in the “close reading” of poems or having never been quite sure you've been "getting it," CLOSE READINGS IN A VIRTUAL SPACE provides a digital gathering for taking a refreshing deep dive into poetry.

Actively participate or simply listen and learn!

The event will last about an hour and conclude with a brief reading of poetry by our special guest poet.

Danez Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and received an MFA from the University of Michigan.Smith is the author of Bluff (Graywolf Press, 2024); Homie (Graywolf Press, 2020); Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press, 2017), which was short-listed for the National Book Award; and [insert] boy (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Smith is also the winner of a Pushcart Prize. They co-host the podcast VS alongside Franny Choi. Smith will serve as the Guest Editor of Poem-a-Day in August 2024 and lives in Minneapolis.

Photographer: Hieu Minh Nguyen

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Toward opening new possibilities for discovery, thought, connection, and joy, The Flow Chart Foundation explores poetry and the interrelationships of various art forms as guided by the legacy of gay American poet John Ashbery and promotes engagement with his work.

Host or Publisher The Flow Chart Foundation