Tracy K. Smith
Tracy K. Smith
Full Name and Common Aliases
Tracy K. Smith is an American poet, writer, and educator.
Birth and Death Dates
Tracy K. Smith was born on September 27, 1972, in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She is still alive.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Smith's nationality is American, and she is a poet, writer, and educator by profession.
Early Life and Background
Growing up in Falmouth, Massachusetts, Smith developed an interest in poetry at an early age. Her father was a teacher and a musician, which exposed her to the arts from a young age. She attended a predominantly African American high school where she began writing seriously. Smith's experiences growing up as an African American woman influenced much of her work.
Major Accomplishments
Tracy K. Smith is known for several notable accomplishments. In 2017, she was appointed as the United States Poet Laureate by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. She served in this position until 2018. During her tenure, Smith focused on increasing accessibility to poetry and celebrating its importance in American culture.
Notable Works or Actions
Some of Tracy K. Smith's notable works include:
Life on Mars_: A collection of poems that explores the relationship between humans and space. The book won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
_One Big Self: An American Progress_ : A collection of poetry that examines themes of American identity, history, and culture.
Wade in the Water: A collection of poems that explore themes of migration, displacement, and American identity.Impact and Legacy
Tracy K. Smith's work has had a significant impact on the literary world. Her exploration of complex themes such as American identity, space exploration, and social justice has resonated with readers worldwide. As Poet Laureate, she worked to increase accessibility to poetry and promote its importance in American culture.Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Tracy K. Smith is widely quoted and remembered for several reasons:
Her unique perspective as an African American woman has given voice to underrepresented communities.
Her exploration of complex themes such as space exploration, social justice, and American identity has captivated readers worldwide.
Her work has won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Overall, Tracy K. Smith is a celebrated poet, writer, and educator whose work continues to inspire and educate audiences around the world.
Quotes by Tracy K. Smith
Tracy K. Smith's insights on:
You want a poem to unsettle something. There's a deep and interesting kind of troubling that poems do, which is to say, 'This is what you think you're certain of, and I'm going to show you how that's not enough. There's something more that might be even more rewarding if you're willing to let go of what you already know.'
I want to just go to places where writers don't usually go, where people like me don't usually show up, and say, 'Here are some poems. Do they speak to you? What do you hear in them?'
I think the way poems are taught to high school students is completely counterintuitive; it sets up this sense of being the poem's adversary. The poem is sort of sneakily trying to outsmart you.
I have this belief that we are so vulnerable when we open ourselves up to literature. We're reminded of these real parts of ourselves.
When I first became brave enough to tell people that I wrote poems, so many people would rave to me about Edna St. Vincent Millay's work. I was embarrassed not to have read her, and I think that put me off from reading her for a long time. So many of her poems are just impeccable.
Jacqueline Woodson's books are such a gift to parents and children for their poignant subtlety and lyricism and their willingness to let a reader dwell in the pangs of realization that we sometimes try to protect our children from.
The glib, facile, simplistic, and prefabricated language by which we as consumers are constantly surrounded is a language that flatters us, that urges us to indulge ourselves, to get away from it all, to be unique by opting in, talking back, liking us on Facebook, leaving a review, sharing, retweeting, etc.
Poetry is not the language we live in. It's not the language of our day-to-day errand-running and obligation-fulfilling, not the language with which we are asked to justify ourselves to the outside world. It certainly isn't the language to which commercial value has been assigned.