Collections Spotlight: Tracy K. Smith
Tracy K. Smith was appointed the Library’s 22nd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry on June 14, 2017 and began serving on September 13, 2017. Her mission the Library’s chief poet is to bring poetry to rural areas.
“I wanted to go into the more rural communities that don’t have programming on a consistent basis, where people’s lives are equally affected by the kinds of questions and memories that poems can draw upon. If writers and scholars are only talking to each other, we’re missing out on a huge part of the story.”
From the Catbird Seat podcast: Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith
“The Good Life” Poem 002 on the Poetry 180 website
Articles
- “New Laureate Ready To Take Poetry on Road” Library of Congress Gazette, July 28, 2017
- “Hayden Names Tracy K. Smith Poet Laureate” Library of Congress Gazette, June 16, 2017
Library blog posts
- Introducing Our New Poet Laureate: Online Edition From the Catbird Seat June 21, 2017
- “Pic of the Week: Introducing Tracy K. Smith, the 22nd Poet Laureate” Library of Congress Blog September 15, 2017
- Poet Laureate Inaugural Reading: An Evening in Photos From the Catbird Seat September 25, 2017
- “Tracy K. Smith’s Catbird Seat” From the Catbird Seat September 13, 2017
- “Welcome to our New Poet Laureate!” From the Catbird Seat June 14, 2017
Learning from the Source: The Declaration, Her Declaration, Your Declaration lesson
Select Tracy K. Smith digital resources from outside the Library
‘Poetry Lives Everywhere’: Interview with Tracy K. Smith NPR
Teach This Poem: Flores Woman by Tracy K. Smith Academy of American Poets