& even the black guy’s profile reads 'sorry, no black guys'

In contemporary U.S. poetry, many authors have intentionally departed from historically canonical styles (lyrical, metered, and narrative) in favor of more experimental forms and subjects. Danez Smith, as one of these contemporary poets, has a body of work that illustrates a range of authorial decisions that play with more constrained forms of poetry or break away from tradition all together. This context is helpful to understanding “& even the black guy’s profile reads ‘sorry, no black guys,’” both because the poem is an open form prose poem, and because the poem requires an alternative style to functionally address its subject matter.

The prosaic format of “& even the black guy’s profile” is part of its informal appeal to the reader. Smith utilizes appropriate punctuation, especially as commas and periods, to give some semblance of structure to the piece, yet overall, the poem reads as a stream-of-consciousness discussion from the narrator to both the subject and the reader. The poem’s title adds to the effect of the prose style, since the title functions as a leading statement that begins the narration. In many ways, the choice of prose poem as a form for this piece is what centers the piece as contemporary for the reader, which is critical when thinking about the content of the poem.

Although one could argue that “& even the black guy’s profile” could function in interesting ways as, for example, a sonnet or villanelle, the use of the prosaic form is a critical investment for Smith in relating their chosen content regarding internalized racism in dating. In a more rigid form, the content of the poem might feel too foreign or intense for the reader; similarly, a rhyme scheme or meter might limit the fluid and conversational voice of the narrator. In this way, Smith’s poem represents an important discussion in contemporary poetry: alternative forms of poetry can be viewed as an opening for poets to address new subjects in new ways, rather than having to try to fit contemporary subjects into traditional forms.