Minnesota poet Danez Smith announced as Pulitzer Prize finalist for poetry

Minnesota poet Danez Smith was announced Monday as a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. They received the recognition for their poetry book “Bluff,” published by Graywolf Press in Minneapolis.

“We're thrilled to announce that BLUFF is a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Poetry,” Graywolf Press announced in a Facebook post.

The poems were written during the COVID-19 pandemic and as “Minneapolis became the epicenter of protest following the murder of George Floyd,” according to the book’s summary on the Graywolf Press website.

“Bluff is Danez Smith’s powerful reckoning with their role and responsibility as a poet and with their hometown of the Twin Cities. This is a book of awakening out of violence, guilt, shame and critical pessimism to wonder and imagine how we can strive toward a new existence in a world that seems to be dissolving into desolate futures,” the summary said.

Smith, who lives in Minneapolis, is also the author of “Don’t Call Us Dead,” which was a National Book Award finalist.

• Authorities apprehend man who escaped from sex offender facility in St. Peter
• ‘Burn ‘em!’: The deafening roar of drag racing returns to Minnesota’s oldest strip
• Warm weather, relaxed limits suggest strong Minnesota fishing opener this weekend
• ‘Murphy, the Boss Cat of Little Earth’ celebrates friendship in Minneapolis Native community