In this Louisiana Channel interview, Danez Smith reads their poems “Colorado Springs” and “Craft,” and talks about finding hope for the world in the right ways with poetry and optimism, reflecting on some of their favorite writers, including James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, and D. A. Powell. “I believe that poems are gathering spaces across time,” says Smith.
Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.