early praise:

Speaking to NPR in 2017, Smith explained the human consolations of poetry in an era of disconnection and turmoil: It's "a voice on a page that's saying, 'I have lived, I have felt, I have questions, and I have wishes.'" More than eight years later, the former U.S. poet laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner and onetime NPR NewsPoet is confronting today's tumultuous moment by listening closer than ever to that voice on the page. In these essays, composed partly of close readings and broad commentary on the possibilities of poetry itself, Smith again proves to be an able ambassador for an artform.  --Colin Dwyer, NPR

10/18/2025: Southern Festival of Books, Vanderbilt University

10/23/2025: Tucson Humanities Festival

10/30/2025: TEDxNew England

11/10/2025: Southern Methodist University

11/22/2025: Miami Book Fair

12/4/2025: Symphony Space, NYC

12/8/2025: Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge, MA