Tracy K. Smith on 'Staying Human'

Leaflet Cover 

One of the only defenses against the degradations of our market-

driven culture is to cleave to language that fosters humility, 
awareness of complexity, commitment to the lives of others, 
and resistance to the overly easily and the patently false. 
Poetry is one vehicle for this humanizing, 
reanimating version of language. . . .

~ U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith

Our national Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, now in her second term, discussed her first term with The Washington Post's Book World editor Ron Charles on April 19, 2018, following her address "Staying Human: Poetry in the Age of Technology". Below you'll find a portion of the interview, which includes Smith's readings of poems by Laura Kasischke and John Yau. For the complete recording, check the Library of Congress Website.