FAMILY, IDENTITY, AND RESISTANCE: JACQUELINE WOODSON'S APPROACH TO BLUFF BY DANEZ SMITH

This research is going to inspect the intricate interface of family, identity, and resistance in Danez Smith's poetry, primarily the collection Bluff. Benefitting from Jacqueline Woodson's outline, which underscores the significance of individual and shared histories in defining identity, this study attempts to show how Smith's work depicts the convolutions of the modern Black experiences. Through a thorough exploration of particular poems from Bluff, the current research scrutinizes the ways in which familial exchanges work as both a base of power and a place of struggle, presenting the multidimensional nature of identity development. Smith's poetry often copes with themes of belonging and isolation, and also stresses the tightness between individual cravings and cooperative philosophies. By placing Smith's poetry in the larger agenda of Black literary conducts and the socio-political landscape, this study draws attention to the impact of poetry as a kind of resistance against systemic domination and demotion. Jacqueline Woodson's methodology revolves around a standpoint through which to examine the narrative structures and emotional effects in Smith's poetry. Woodson's concentration on the eminence of storytelling in shaping identity is in accordance with Smith's enquiry of personal and cooperative narratives. This research argues that through the act of writing, Smith not only announces their own identity but also confronts dominant narratives that attempt to get rid of or simplify the experiences of demoted people