Declaration

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2018

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Related Poems

“Banneker” by Rita Dove (1983)

Rita Dove was the first African American woman named US poet laureate in 1993. Smith cites Dove as one of her chief poetic influences. Dove’s historical poem is about the eccentric life of Benjamin Banneker. Banneker was an African American almanac author, surveyor, farmer, and landowner. He helped survey the District of Columbia and accurately predicted solar eclipses, among other scientific achievements. Dove’s poem portrays him as a mythic figure in American history on par with figures like Jefferson and Franklin.

“Landscape” by Robin Coste Lewis (2015)

Lewis is an essential figure in contemporary Black poetry. Her 2015 debut collection, The Voyage of the Sable Venus, uses ekphrastic poetry (poems about painting and artwork) to explore the influence of colonialism on how art portrays Black people. The volume also considers how people of color can reclaim their place in art history by subverting their role as the other and placing themselves at the center of an artwork. “Landscape” is a poem that explores the role of sexuality, history, and current events on the poet’s body.

“In This Place (An American Lyric)” by Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman was the first National Youth Poet Laureate in the United States. Her 2017 term coincided with Smith’s terms as the adult laureate. Gorman read “In This Place” at Smith’s inauguration at the Library of Congress. This poem evokes the beauty and expanse of the United States; it also meditates on the violence because of hatred. Gorman touches on the Boston Marathon bombings, the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, and immigration reform. “In This Place” is ultimately hopeful about overcoming the bleak stain of recent history. The poem calls for poets to reclaim history and rewrite it to hear more diverse voices.

Further Literary Resources

“Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet Tracy K. Smith on the Purpose and Power of Poetry” by Ezra Klein and Tracy K. Smith (2020)

This interview is a full podcast conversation between Smith and Klein about what inspires her as a poet and her views on applying poetic language. This interview is interesting because Klein talks about how he does not usually like or understand poetry, but talking with Smith helps him feel more tuned to it. Klein also asks Smith directly about how she crafted “Declaration” as her rereading of Black life in America.

Ordinary Light: A Memoir by Tracy K. Smith (2015)

Memoirs by a poet help contextualize their creative work. Smith wrote her memoir to memorialize her mother, who died in 1994, shortly after graduating from college. This memoir explores the influences on her life that inspire the themes in her writing.

“Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and the Committee of Five (1776)

Since “Declaration” is a found poem uncovered from the “Declaration of Independence,” it helps to read this document alongside the poem. This poem comes from the section that starts with “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good” and can be found—in parts—throughout this section. It may help to read the whole document and summarize the historical context that parallels the poem.