AN ODE TO RAVEN SMITH

April, 2023. Written by Smith Beaufoy.

Cackles of ironic internet woe reverberate around Raven Smiths’ Instagram.

A necessary follow will grant you access to Smith’s devilish lens cast upon the only popular culture moments worth knowing. Quips abound, scroll along to be enveloped in niche Succession references, Gwyneth Paltrows’ infamous ski trial, Gucci and The Cuts nepo vendetta. The Vogue columnist is across it all. 

A seasoned cultural analyst over the past few years I have turned again and again to the levity of Smiths’ commentary. An irreverent delight I am drawn to, like booktok to a Moshfegh novel. 

One afternoon of hyperfixation later I find myself reading a profile written by Adam White for The Independent. Smith’s quotes are sprinkled throughout:

“Such base-level, d*ck analogy chat.” 

Is this a perfect sentence? The answer is yes. 

An Ode to Raven Smith would be incomplete without mentioning he is also a best-selling author.

His first novel Raven Smith’s Trivial Pursuits, published in 2020 is a rumination of the minutiae of contemporary living. Described by Harper Collins as ‘…brilliant humour, great tenderness and lingering pathos’ His second novel Raven Smith’s Men has been deemed ‘part memoir, part exploration of the peculiar dynamics and amorphous boundaries of masculinity.’Both books speak to the concept of analysis. Masked in comedy, Smith approaches specific instances and veils their depth with disillusion. 

Personally, there is an interest I hold in the human condition (I know a lot of you have just gone into REM sleep but please stay with.) I find it interesting what we as humans choose to analyse and elevate.

An analysis of analysis (very meta.) Of course, different strokes for different folks, but there is a vulnerability we reveal in the things we deem remarkable. This is true of Raven Smith. What may seem like absurdity is often acuity swathed in jokes. Smiths’ wit often speaks to a considered thought, housed in a secure writer.

There is a charm to his words, but also a wisdom. It is a wisdom clear when he discusses the ‘club he was born into but still doesn’t get’ - Men. His most recent book covers a lot of ground on the subject of masculinity. Anecdotes around Sports Dads, bullying and male dominated workplaces contain minute revelations about what it means to be a man. There is so much more to write about this exploration - but frankly no one can write about Raven Smith’s Men better than Raven Smith, so click here. 

If you peruse Smith’s Goodreads reviews, there is a common thread of every reviewer wishing to befriend the author. There is something special about people reading someone's words and wanting to befriend them. It speaks to a warm prose that is difficult to achieve without dipping into troubling blogspot territory. All of Smith’s pieces are skillfully written, with tonal spice and lingering intimacy.

On a granular plane Smith’s specificity is speaking to a niche moment and audience, but widen the lens and you often find very complex, dare I say philosophical ideologies in a lot of what he writes about. These concepts can be found in academia, but are a lot more fun to read about when drenched in d*ck jokes. 

To close this love letter, Raven Smith is an incredible writer, a vehicle of thought and a subject of personal adoration. I simply had to write about him. I encourage you to pick up his published works. P.s. In another life I can imagine Raven Smith and Samuel Beckett shooting the sh*t in a camp, absurdist nature. One can dream.