Festival of Writers: Tracy K. Smith Poetry Reading and Q&A
Join us for a lively poetry reading and Q & A with the 22nd United States poet laureate: celebrated writer Tracy K. Smith. As a recent article from the Harvard Gazette expresses, “Smith explores themes of love and desire, justice, loss, and human connections across time, history, and difference. Critics laud her clear language, expansive storytelling, and her engagement with the thorny paradoxes of everyday life and larger questions of American history, justice, and racism.”
Tracy K. Smith was appointed the 22nd United States Poet Laureate in 2017. She is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Ordinary Light (Knopf, 2015) and four books of poetry, including her most recent Wade in the Water (Graywolf, 2018). Her collection Life on Mars won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize and was selected as a New York Times Notable Book. Duende won the 2006 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and an Essence Literary Award. The Body’s Question was the winner of the 2002 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Smith was the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writers Award in 2004 and a Whiting Award in 2005. In 2014 the Academy of American Poets awarded Smith with the Academy Fellowship, awarded to one poet each year to recognize distinguished poetic achievement. She is Professor of English and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.
Presented by the Humanities Research Institute, the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English, and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Part of A Year of Creative Writers at Illinois. Supported by the Presidential Initiative to Celebrate the Impact of the Arts and the Humanities.
Tickets for this event are available online only as mobile or print-at-home tickets and are not available by phone or at the Ticket Office counter. Please visit Krannert Center’s online ticket office to ensure you have or can create an active account.
As part of the University of Illinois, Krannert Center follows U of I guidelines regarding face coverings and other COVID-19 safety protocols. These guidelines change as conditions change, so we will continue to adjust our practices and keep you informed throughout the season. At this time, face coverings are required in indoor university spaces such as Krannert Center. Face coverings must be worn throughout any event or performance.
