. . . When a poem can lead you into an unfamiliar place,
where what you must do is watch and listen closely,
think and associate quickly, and find your footing from scratch,
it is imparting a set of skills that are yours to keep. . . .*
~ Tracy K. Smith, Poet
____________________* Quoted from "The Wisdom of Clouds: Why Poetry Is Essential to Democracy', SpeakEasy, The Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2012
Tracy K. Smith, Poet, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University; Winner, 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, 2008 Essence Literary Award, 2005 Whiting Award, 2004 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer's Award, 2002 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, James Laughlin Award; Recipient, Wallace Stegner Fellowship and Breadloaf Writer's Conference Fellowship
Profiles at Academy of American Poets, Graywolf Press, PBS NewsHour, PEN American Center, Princeton University's Lewis Center, and Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative
Life on Mars (Graywolf Press, 2011), Duende: Poems (Graywolf Press, 2007), and The Body's Question (Graywolf Press, 2003)
"NewsPoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes the Day in Verse", All Things Considered, NPR, January 27, 2012
Jacques J. Rancourt, "An Interview with Tracy K. Smith", Devil's Lake, July 8, 2011
Tracy K. Smith on FaceBook
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4 comments:
I do enjoy these "thoughts for the day" that you post. They send me away pondering.
speaking of finding one's footing ... that describes glynn's poem today.
I like the thought that the set of skills are mine to keep.
And I too like this Sunday thoughts.
And this is why poetry (and art) will always be valuable.
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