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Counting Descent
Clint Smith's debut poetry collection, Counting Descent, is a coming of age story that seeks to complicate our conception of lineage and tradition. Smith explores the cognitive dissonance that results from belonging to a community that unapologetically celebrates black humanity while living in a world that often renders blackness a caricature of fear. His poems move fluidly across personal and political histories, all the while reflecting on the social construction of our lived experiences. Smith brings the reader on a powerful journey forcing us to reflect on all that we learn growing up, and all that we seek to unlearn moving forward.
75 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2016
About the author
Clint Smith
8 books1,656 followersClint Smith is the author of the narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, the Stowe Prize and selected by the New York Times as one of the 10 best books of 2021. He is also the author of the poetry collection Counting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. His is a staff writer at The Atlantic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 554 reviews
March 2, 2019
Spelling bees were a battleground
where teachers trained me
to wield language as a
tool & fist & weapon & warning
to those who would rather
make an outline out of me.
(last stanza of "How to Fight")
This is important poetry; but (more importantly) it is beautiful, accessible, intimate, explanatory poetry.
I read this as part of this year's "One Book One New Orleans" (my first time participating).
where teachers trained me
to wield language as a
tool & fist & weapon & warning
to those who would rather
make an outline out of me.
(last stanza of "How to Fight")
This is important poetry; but (more importantly) it is beautiful, accessible, intimate, explanatory poetry.
I read this as part of this year's "One Book One New Orleans" (my first time participating).
September 23, 2017
!!! https://africanbookaddict.com/2017/09...
In 56 poems, the realities of being a black boy in America are beautifully portrayed in this collection. Not only are the plights and queries of black boyhood portrayed, but black boy joy is an important component of these poems as well- so its pretty balanced, which I loved. This collection is personal, honest. Smith shares his loving family with us and sheds light on how he was raised. The titular poem - 'Counting Descent' is my absolute favorite. I read it 3 times before I proceeded to finish the book. Smith's way with words can make you freeze momentarily as you clearly picture all the nuances and truths he portrays. His writing is tangible - you feel the pain, you feel the joy and you feel less alone. I loved how he personified New Orleans through its unique foods, as a tourist attraction, as a high-risk flood zone and ultimately as his home.
Fave poems were: Counting Descent, Playground Elegy, Ode to the Only Black Kid in Class, The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin (this one gave me chills), Passed Down (this poem surprised me... never knew some light-skinned folk actually (and honestly) felt ashamed of their lightness. From all the books I've read/friends I know who are of a lighter hue, they consider it a 'privilege'), Lifeline, Each Morning is a Ritual Made Just For Us (I looved this! I think its a love poem dedicated to his wife), When Mom Braids My Sister's Hair and For the Hardest Days.
I'll definitely revisit this collection again. I've been following Clint on Twitter, so I'll be keeping an eye out for more of his work!
In 56 poems, the realities of being a black boy in America are beautifully portrayed in this collection. Not only are the plights and queries of black boyhood portrayed, but black boy joy is an important component of these poems as well- so its pretty balanced, which I loved. This collection is personal, honest. Smith shares his loving family with us and sheds light on how he was raised. The titular poem - 'Counting Descent' is my absolute favorite. I read it 3 times before I proceeded to finish the book. Smith's way with words can make you freeze momentarily as you clearly picture all the nuances and truths he portrays. His writing is tangible - you feel the pain, you feel the joy and you feel less alone. I loved how he personified New Orleans through its unique foods, as a tourist attraction, as a high-risk flood zone and ultimately as his home.
Fave poems were: Counting Descent, Playground Elegy, Ode to the Only Black Kid in Class, The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin (this one gave me chills), Passed Down (this poem surprised me... never knew some light-skinned folk actually (and honestly) felt ashamed of their lightness. From all the books I've read/friends I know who are of a lighter hue, they consider it a 'privilege'), Lifeline, Each Morning is a Ritual Made Just For Us (I looved this! I think its a love poem dedicated to his wife), When Mom Braids My Sister's Hair and For the Hardest Days.
I'll definitely revisit this collection again. I've been following Clint on Twitter, so I'll be keeping an eye out for more of his work!
May 14, 2021
This collection is one of the best I’ve read. I don’t know what makes poetry good but this collection spoke to me and I (mostly) feel like I “got it”. Approachable. Speaks directly to Blackness, fear, home, anxiety, confidence, joy. All the things.
October 11, 2017
6/5 stars. Best poetry I've ever read
April 3, 2024
Reading this is a harrowing and utterly depressing experience, an intimate peek into the psyche of a young black boy (presumably Mr. Smith) trying to navigate a world that does not care about him, or cares about black bodies.
The poetry collection establishes a myriad of sad and shameful experiences growing up, coming of age into humiliation and constant, relentless rejection. The speakers of these poems are constantly othered, to the point where it seems that is no hope.
Some standouts are "Something You Should Know" (revealing about your humble background working at a pet store, watching animals such as turtles, rabbits and hermit crabs hide in and out as a metaphor of a narrator often wondering whether or not revealing themselves will lead into shame); "Soles"- having fancy kicks will never make you equal to white kids; an allusion to 1990s cultural touchstones such as Urkel and Usher that differentiate what is "black", what is "white", "My Jump Shot" is often about how code switching is exhausting, when tied to power, privilege, whiteness.
“Today I bought a book for you" about a speaker so full of shame and desperation of not wanting to be rejected sabotages himself because its the way he's been conditioned, "to try and convince the world that I am worth something" (Smith 63).
My favorite poems are the closers, "Queries of Unrest" which is about the constant voice of self doubt and knowledge that one was constantly othered and humiliated, "maybe that's why I'm always running from the things that love me" (Smith 68). The most hopeful poem is "There is a Lake Here"- an ode to Lake Pontchartrain- as a place of happy childhood memories growing up in New Orleans, "the boy is not using the water to hide his tears, he is laughing" (Smith 70) and a place that symbolizes death because of the carnage Hurricane Katrina inflicted in 2005, "which turns a city into a tessellation of broken windows and spray paint" (Smith 70).
Relentlessly sorrowful, but powerful and personal, this is one poetry collection that should be used by teachers to expose students about how race, more than ever is a construct that had been used to divide.
The poetry collection establishes a myriad of sad and shameful experiences growing up, coming of age into humiliation and constant, relentless rejection. The speakers of these poems are constantly othered, to the point where it seems that is no hope.
Some standouts are "Something You Should Know" (revealing about your humble background working at a pet store, watching animals such as turtles, rabbits and hermit crabs hide in and out as a metaphor of a narrator often wondering whether or not revealing themselves will lead into shame); "Soles"- having fancy kicks will never make you equal to white kids; an allusion to 1990s cultural touchstones such as Urkel and Usher that differentiate what is "black", what is "white", "My Jump Shot" is often about how code switching is exhausting, when tied to power, privilege, whiteness.
“Today I bought a book for you" about a speaker so full of shame and desperation of not wanting to be rejected sabotages himself because its the way he's been conditioned, "to try and convince the world that I am worth something" (Smith 63).
My favorite poems are the closers, "Queries of Unrest" which is about the constant voice of self doubt and knowledge that one was constantly othered and humiliated, "maybe that's why I'm always running from the things that love me" (Smith 68). The most hopeful poem is "There is a Lake Here"- an ode to Lake Pontchartrain- as a place of happy childhood memories growing up in New Orleans, "the boy is not using the water to hide his tears, he is laughing" (Smith 70) and a place that symbolizes death because of the carnage Hurricane Katrina inflicted in 2005, "which turns a city into a tessellation of broken windows and spray paint" (Smith 70).
Relentlessly sorrowful, but powerful and personal, this is one poetry collection that should be used by teachers to expose students about how race, more than ever is a construct that had been used to divide.
August 31, 2017
This morning I intended to simply peruse this book of poems on my TBR list, but once I started I couldn't stop reading. Clint Smith writes deceptively emotional, startlingly accessible poems, poems so good I wanted to share them almost immediately. I restrained myself for now—wanting more, I guess, to keep reading further in the book—but these poems are definitely going to find a place in my classroom.
The poems about his boyhood as a Black American are diverse will resonate with young people, but his musings about familial joy, falling in love, the various plights of New Orleans, and the challenges and joys of growing up Black are consistently good. To add to all that, Smith is playful with his form and structure. Several poems would be excellent prompts for writers.
My favourites: "Chaos Theory," "Ode to the Loop-de-Loop," "Counting Descent," "Ode to the Dizzy Drake Hands," "Each Morning Is A Ritual Made Just For Us," "The Boy and His Ball," "what the cicada said to the black boy"—and on and on.
The poems about his boyhood as a Black American are diverse will resonate with young people, but his musings about familial joy, falling in love, the various plights of New Orleans, and the challenges and joys of growing up Black are consistently good. To add to all that, Smith is playful with his form and structure. Several poems would be excellent prompts for writers.
My favourites: "Chaos Theory," "Ode to the Loop-de-Loop," "Counting Descent," "Ode to the Dizzy Drake Hands," "Each Morning Is A Ritual Made Just For Us," "The Boy and His Ball," "what the cicada said to the black boy"—and on and on.
May 3, 2024
"you know how to swim boy?
i know you can float
felt you bobbing along my surface
before you even knew you could"
“To deny the full humanity of others is to deny it within ourselves.”
"We are charred vessels
vestiges of woods and wonder
anchors tethered to our bows.
It is the irony of a ship burning
at sea, surrounded by
the very thing that could
save us."
i know you can float
felt you bobbing along my surface
before you even knew you could"
“To deny the full humanity of others is to deny it within ourselves.”
"We are charred vessels
vestiges of woods and wonder
anchors tethered to our bows.
It is the irony of a ship burning
at sea, surrounded by
the very thing that could
save us."
February 20, 2022
➵ nuanced stanzas drenched in political, social, and historical commentary through words resonating the author's boyhood as a Black American. from family and home to race and heart, this collection dives into the humanity and complexity of an identity boxed by stereotypes, constant individually challenged, and systematically oppressed. the raw honesty of these poems left me empathetic.
September 27, 2017
"I have always used words / to try and convince the world / that I am worth something."
July 29, 2023
Clint Smith's first poetry collection. It's powerful. I especially enjoyed the series of poems about creatures and inanimate objects who converse with Black boys. I loved the social justice aspect of his poems.
Favorite Poems:
-"what the cicada said to the black boy"
-"what the fire hydrant said to the black boy"
-"Counterfactual"
-"Ode to the Only Black Kid in the Class"
-"what the window said to the black boy"
-"For Charles"
-"James Baldwin Speaks to the Protest Novel"
-"what is left"
-"The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin" (this one made me appreciate the predecessor poem even more)
-"Queries of Unrest"
-"what the cathedral said to the black boy"
Favorite Poems:
-"what the cicada said to the black boy"
-"what the fire hydrant said to the black boy"
-"Counterfactual"
-"Ode to the Only Black Kid in the Class"
-"what the window said to the black boy"
-"For Charles"
-"James Baldwin Speaks to the Protest Novel"
-"what is left"
-"The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin" (this one made me appreciate the predecessor poem even more)
-"Queries of Unrest"
-"what the cathedral said to the black boy"
September 25, 2016
I must preface my review with a bit on my background: I live in the midwest, Iowa to be precise. I teach high school between two major highways and copious fields of corn and soybeans. To be clear: There's a lot of white people here and not much diversity.
However, last year I came across Clint Smith while researching for class materials. In class, we watched his TED talk video from 2014 titled "The Danger of Silence" to investigate language devices in English I and speaking strategies in Advanced Speech. We also watched "When They Tell You The Brontosaurus Never Existed" because we loved it. Meanwhile, I Googled and watched other videos. It was clear that not only was Smith unapologetic at unearthing human and racial truths but he was (and still is) also a master of craft--adding in alliteration and assonance like it was his native tongue. Beautiful.
His book of poetry could not have been published at a more appropriate--albeit a terribly racist--time. Just in the past several weeks, sixteen more innocent black victims have lost their lives due to (on optimistic days) miscommunication or (on bad days) blatant bigotry. It's something I don't know how to talk about to my students because they don't see it. They live in a nearly all-white community; they see the television and media reports and think "That's not here. We don't even have any black people around here." That is to say, they're in denial. This book of poetry could change that.
In "For the Boys Who Never Learned How to Swim," Smith writes:
His face against the front of the police / car made him look like a fish out of water. / But where is the water? / When has there ever been water? / When have we ever been allowed to swim? / When has there ever been somewhere / we can breathe? / I don't remember the last time police / sirens didn't feel like gasping for air. / I don't remember what it means not / to be considered something meant / to flounder, to flap against / the surface while others watch you / until the flailing stops.
Holy cow. Amazing. An analogy that makes me feel terrible for never taking the time to explain: Do you know what it feels like? You don't have to live around anyone of another race to take an empathetic moment and realize what it feels like. This entire book of poetry could be used as a companion piece for myriad other texts, in high school or in the education of life.
I highly recommend this book to any reader, even those smack dab in the middle of the corn with no other racial diversity to account for... even those screaming for lives to be meaningful while surrounded by others who claim those lives don't really exist.
However, last year I came across Clint Smith while researching for class materials. In class, we watched his TED talk video from 2014 titled "The Danger of Silence" to investigate language devices in English I and speaking strategies in Advanced Speech. We also watched "When They Tell You The Brontosaurus Never Existed" because we loved it. Meanwhile, I Googled and watched other videos. It was clear that not only was Smith unapologetic at unearthing human and racial truths but he was (and still is) also a master of craft--adding in alliteration and assonance like it was his native tongue. Beautiful.
His book of poetry could not have been published at a more appropriate--albeit a terribly racist--time. Just in the past several weeks, sixteen more innocent black victims have lost their lives due to (on optimistic days) miscommunication or (on bad days) blatant bigotry. It's something I don't know how to talk about to my students because they don't see it. They live in a nearly all-white community; they see the television and media reports and think "That's not here. We don't even have any black people around here." That is to say, they're in denial. This book of poetry could change that.
In "For the Boys Who Never Learned How to Swim," Smith writes:
His face against the front of the police / car made him look like a fish out of water. / But where is the water? / When has there ever been water? / When have we ever been allowed to swim? / When has there ever been somewhere / we can breathe? / I don't remember the last time police / sirens didn't feel like gasping for air. / I don't remember what it means not / to be considered something meant / to flounder, to flap against / the surface while others watch you / until the flailing stops.
Holy cow. Amazing. An analogy that makes me feel terrible for never taking the time to explain: Do you know what it feels like? You don't have to live around anyone of another race to take an empathetic moment and realize what it feels like. This entire book of poetry could be used as a companion piece for myriad other texts, in high school or in the education of life.
I highly recommend this book to any reader, even those smack dab in the middle of the corn with no other racial diversity to account for... even those screaming for lives to be meaningful while surrounded by others who claim those lives don't really exist.
December 22, 2020
4.5 stars.
Wow. Too many powerful poems to pick favorites.
After attending the "Teach Living Poets" session at the National Council of Teachers of English conference, I'm definitely interested in using this whole collection with students.
Update: 12/21/20
I didn't realize that I'm reading this with my students almost exactly a year after reading it following NCTE 2019. Still amazing. Still my favorite poetry collection I've read so far.
Wow. Too many powerful poems to pick favorites.
After attending the "Teach Living Poets" session at the National Council of Teachers of English conference, I'm definitely interested in using this whole collection with students.
Update: 12/21/20
I didn't realize that I'm reading this with my students almost exactly a year after reading it following NCTE 2019. Still amazing. Still my favorite poetry collection I've read so far.
July 12, 2020
This is probably the best collection of poetry I've read in the last few years. Clint Smith's poems vary by subject matter, intensity, style -- but they're all powerful and exquisitely crafted.
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August 25, 2022I don’t really know how to review poetry, so bear with me, but I think this collection was really quite good. The themes were well-explored, and the authors perspective managed to portray both the personal intricacies of his life and the overarching social issues and expectations that are shaping his experience and how he’s interacting with the world around around him. The quality of the poems are very consistent throughout, with each one building off of the ones before as well as peeling back more layers, exposing the complexities of navigating coming of age and identity within the Black experience. It was a very insightful and intimate, yet accessible read, and one I would definitely recommend to pretty much anyone.
April 10, 2024
i completely forgot to add this here but i did read this book! overall, a really solid collection that has individually awesome poems and can stand its ground as a whole book. i'm not completely sure what to think of it, maybe because my life experience is so different compared to smith's, especially in the way he presents all his very personal ideas. it's still great though, don't get me wrong. i'd own a copy if i could, but i still don't know how much i'd pick it up to read it again. i enjoyed reading a lot of the poems, analyzing them, talking them over and recommending them, but few come to mind when i try and remember them? without being able to give it a good recapitulation, that's where i am with this written collection.
as spoken poetry, clint smith absolutely knocks it out of the park giving his poetry life on a stage. i think that's why so many people haven't been able enjoy poetry to its fullest, myself included.
this book will definitely be a standard to which i hold up a lot of poetry i read. not because of some life-changing quality the poems have, but more because its accessibility and consistency.
as spoken poetry, clint smith absolutely knocks it out of the park giving his poetry life on a stage. i think that's why so many people haven't been able enjoy poetry to its fullest, myself included.
this book will definitely be a standard to which i hold up a lot of poetry i read. not because of some life-changing quality the poems have, but more because its accessibility and consistency.
March 15, 2023
I have never been so moved by poetry. Clint Smith is a master of imagery and allegory. I had to think and I reread several poems, but my heart felt these moments. Smith shares his life and experience with the reader and you feel like you finally understand something that was just beyond your reach. I will read these lines again soon.
March 30, 2024
Clint Smith is incredible. I absolutely loved analyzing this collection with my students. His words are powerful and can convert even the most stubborn people into enjoying poetry.
January 23, 2019
I have never before been terrified of a book ending from it's very beginning, but here we are
thank you Jen
I will now reread, underline, circle, copy, and put on my wall
thank you Jen
I will now reread, underline, circle, copy, and put on my wall
December 30, 2016
Smith’s is a political poetry and he embraces the label. Indeed, his book’s epigram by Ralph Ellison is “I recognize no dichotomy between art and protest.” Two poems are titled: “James Baldwin Speaks to the Protest Novel” and “The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin”. Many of the poems do indeed deal with political or social injustice. Others deal with everyday issues of love, family, home, and art. The title poem deals with all of that because, after all, they intersect. It begins
About a dozen swift-moving stanzas later it concludes,
Through his family’s history and values Smith takes us on a journey from segregation to Black Lives Matter with insight and compelling narrative.
A poem called “No More Elegies Today” is about the urgent need to write poems about young people who suffer violence but wanting to write about the girl jumping rope
There are poems set in Cambridge and Paris and in his hometown of New Orleans. Smith’s poems provide a perspective that is his and negates the generalized bullshit narrative of clichés and bigotry, replacing it with the reality of one individual’s experiences, perspective, and history. What he writes about New Orleans at book’s end is not limited in meaning to the place:
“My grandfather is a quarter century
older than his right to vote & two
decades younger than the president
who signed the paper that made it so.”
About a dozen swift-moving stanzas later it concludes,
“I still believe
we can build this world into something new,
some place where I can live past twenty-five
& it’s not a cause for celebration because these days
I celebrate every breath, tried to start counting
them so I wouldn’t take each one for granted.
I wish I could give my breath to the boys who
had theirs taken, but I’ve stopped counting
because it feels like there are too many
boys & not enough breath to go around.”
Through his family’s history and values Smith takes us on a journey from segregation to Black Lives Matter with insight and compelling narrative.
A poem called “No More Elegies Today” is about the urgent need to write poems about young people who suffer violence but wanting to write about the girl jumping rope
“But rather about the
back & forth bob of her head
as she waits for the right moment
to insert herself
into the blinking flashes
of bound hemp.
But rather about her friends
on either end of the rope who turn
their wrists into small
flashing windmills cultivating
an energy of their own.
But rather about the way
the beads in her hair bounce
against the back of her neck.
But rather the way her feet
barely touch the ground,
how the rope skipping across
the concrete sounds
like the entire world is giving
her a round of applause.”
There are poems set in Cambridge and Paris and in his hometown of New Orleans. Smith’s poems provide a perspective that is his and negates the generalized bullshit narrative of clichés and bigotry, replacing it with the reality of one individual’s experiences, perspective, and history. What he writes about New Orleans at book’s end is not limited in meaning to the place:
“There is a lake here.
A lake the size of
outstretched arms. And no,
not the type of arms raised
in surrender.
I mean the sort
of arms beckoning to be held.
To wrap themselves around another
and to never let go. And no, the lake
is not a place where people are
drowning. And no, this water is not
that which comes from a storm
or that which turns a city
into a tessellation of broken
windows and spray paint.
There are children swimming here,
splashing one another while
the droplets ricochet between them.
The droplets do not hurt,
they simply roll down the side
of the boy’s cheek. No, the boy is not
using the water to hide his tears.
He is laughing. Eyes cast out across
the water, in awe of how vast it is.”
September 24, 2017
There are black poems and themes that always cause a heartrending cascade of feelings. Those inside Counting Descent count as perfect examples. What's the difference between a good poet and an exceptional poet? One answer, in my opinion, the latter disguises the theme of his writing so it traverses the limited borders of genre. Clint Smith and his poems do not traverse. They break.
Sure poems like Full-Court Press, For Charles, and the title poem smack you down and leave you a mess. Yet it's poems like Chaos Theory (my personal favorite) and Ode to the Loop-de-Loop that make you hurry back to your feet - so you can take a step back.
A special case must be made for the Brontosaurs poem, page 62. But if I'd continue, I'd fall nothing short of an essay. So I'll stop and let those stars be enough.
Sure poems like Full-Court Press, For Charles, and the title poem smack you down and leave you a mess. Yet it's poems like Chaos Theory (my personal favorite) and Ode to the Loop-de-Loop that make you hurry back to your feet - so you can take a step back.
A special case must be made for the Brontosaurs poem, page 62. But if I'd continue, I'd fall nothing short of an essay. So I'll stop and let those stars be enough.
July 30, 2017
“I don't remember the last time police
sirens didn't feel like gasping for air.
I don't remember what it means not
to be considered something meant
to flounder, to flap against
the surface while others watch you
until the flailing.......stops.”
“When the sixth cab passes you,
imagine yourself a puddle
existing as both transparency
& filth. Something that won't be there
by the afternoon.”
“...We've got to protest
on these pages. This ink be our picket line.
How can we write about
the soil and not the blood?
How can we write about the tree
and not talk about the noose?”
-This is a powerful collection, addressing the racial issues that continue to plague
our country. Highly recommended.
sirens didn't feel like gasping for air.
I don't remember what it means not
to be considered something meant
to flounder, to flap against
the surface while others watch you
until the flailing.......stops.”
“When the sixth cab passes you,
imagine yourself a puddle
existing as both transparency
& filth. Something that won't be there
by the afternoon.”
“...We've got to protest
on these pages. This ink be our picket line.
How can we write about
the soil and not the blood?
How can we write about the tree
and not talk about the noose?”
-This is a powerful collection, addressing the racial issues that continue to plague
our country. Highly recommended.
April 16, 2017
Clint is absolutely fascinating! Counting Descent deals with some very tough topics that are addressed in a raw, For All To See fashion and I love that. It's honest and in todays world it forces a conversation that we must all participate in.
Read
June 25, 2018I enjoyed this, especially “James Baldwin Speaks to the Protest Novel” and “The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin”.
This feels like early writing for this man’s career. I’ll be interested to follow his development.
This feels like early writing for this man’s career. I’ll be interested to follow his development.
July 24, 2018
A genuine, and truly earnest collection of poems.
September 7, 2021
Counting Descent and Playground Elegy were my favorite, but there are so many moving poems in this collection. Recommended!
December 22, 2022
Smith’s conscientious voice delivers a memorable volume of poems that explore a range of subjects: investigating his youth, honoring his lineage and ancestry, addressing history’s inequities and atrocities, and confronting the perpetual wrongs of injustice. Whatever topic he summons, he identifies pain and hardship, while also yearning with optimism for a better future reliant on growth and progress.
Often anecdotal, many of his pieces serve as recollections in tribute to lessons learned and foibles experienced during his growing up, but also he uses his poems to hold America accountable for its history of racial violence and oppression. I admire the concern and compassion he expresses, and I feel his disgust and outrage when he exposes the frightful truth of inequality and injustice.
With each of his finely crafted and deeply thoughtful pieces, Smith does a nice job at utilizing different styles in his poems. From prose pieces to free verse to alliteration, he makes strong choices in whether to adhere to strict punctuation or no diacritical marks at all. Ultimately, I found Counting Descent bristling with relevance and bursting with a tender, healing force accessible through the artistry of his poetic voice.
Often anecdotal, many of his pieces serve as recollections in tribute to lessons learned and foibles experienced during his growing up, but also he uses his poems to hold America accountable for its history of racial violence and oppression. I admire the concern and compassion he expresses, and I feel his disgust and outrage when he exposes the frightful truth of inequality and injustice.
With each of his finely crafted and deeply thoughtful pieces, Smith does a nice job at utilizing different styles in his poems. From prose pieces to free verse to alliteration, he makes strong choices in whether to adhere to strict punctuation or no diacritical marks at all. Ultimately, I found Counting Descent bristling with relevance and bursting with a tender, healing force accessible through the artistry of his poetic voice.
February 11, 2020
It's been a very long time since I've been able to connect with a collection of poems that I felt like spoke to me and my existence. These poems are imbued with Blackness. But, more than that, they explore the complexity and humanity of Black folk.
There were moments when my emotions ran high, particularly on the title poem "Counting Descent", the first poem of the collection "Something You Should Know", and "Playground Elegy." There were times when the lightness and nostalgia inspired, made me feel like I could've had a hand in writing a few of these poems, especially "When Maze & Franky Beverly Come on in My House" and "Ode to the End-of-Year 6th Grade Picnic." And there were moments that were heavy with the politics of Blackness including the pair "James Baldwin Speaks to the Protest Novel" and "The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin." And then I was pleasantly surprised by the love poem that made me think and smile about the love in my own life, "Each Morning Is a Ritual Made Just for Us".
This is a collection of poems I know I will be returning to over and over. And the best part about it, "this shit is for us." Word to Solange.
There were moments when my emotions ran high, particularly on the title poem "Counting Descent", the first poem of the collection "Something You Should Know", and "Playground Elegy." There were times when the lightness and nostalgia inspired, made me feel like I could've had a hand in writing a few of these poems, especially "When Maze & Franky Beverly Come on in My House" and "Ode to the End-of-Year 6th Grade Picnic." And there were moments that were heavy with the politics of Blackness including the pair "James Baldwin Speaks to the Protest Novel" and "The Protest Novel Responds to James Baldwin." And then I was pleasantly surprised by the love poem that made me think and smile about the love in my own life, "Each Morning Is a Ritual Made Just for Us".
This is a collection of poems I know I will be returning to over and over. And the best part about it, "this shit is for us." Word to Solange.
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December 28, 2016What a wonderful expression of what it means to be a young black man in the United States today! This should be required reading in high school English classes. His words are carefully chosen and his images so well drawn. He will become on of our great American poets. I bought copies for my daughter to use in her Reading Resource class and gifted a young graduate student in my department with my copy. Now I have to get another one. I will watch for his next book. He is a treasure.
December 13, 2019
Easily one of my favorite poetry books that I read in 2019. I'm so glad this gem was available on audio via my library. Loved Smith's reading of the poems, loved how he tied the collection together with the poems addressed to the Black Boy by different elements/locations, loved the love poems so tender they hurt, in a good way, the way good poems can break your heart. Such a thoughtful look at racism, childhood, and family bonds. This is a book I will definitely reread.
February 15, 2019
I know I’m late to the party with this book, but holy cow. It may be the first complete collection of poetry I’ve read. My students love it just as much. #readlivingpoets
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