U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will be at the Central Library on Nov. 29 for a free event that features readings from her work, a moderated conversation and a Q&A with attendees. The Indianapolis event is one of four Smith will be participating in as part of Indiana Humanities’ initiative called Quantum Leap, which explores connections between science and humanity.
Smith is the author of three poetry books, plus a poetry anthology and a memoir. Her most celebrated collection of poems, “Life on Mars,” won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, and The New York Times selected it as a Notable Book. She will sign books after the event.
Smith, a professor at Princeton University, understands many people are shy about reading and listening to poetry because of its high-brow reputation. It’s why she started a project called American Conversations, where she travels to rural communities to read and discuss poetry.
“I want people to think poetry is a vehicle for thinking about our deep feelings,” Smith said.
Smith doesn’t always incorporate science explicitly in her poems, but she said there’s usually at least a sense of the unknown. Her father was an engineer on the Hubble Space Telescope, the marvel of an instrument that lets scientists peer deep into the universe. He died while Smith was writing “Life on Mars,” which incorporates thoughts on the afterlife.
“If he’s anywhere, he’s somewhere in the universe,” Smith said.
Indiana Poet Laureate Adrian Matejka, who will moderate the conversation with Smith, said he doesn’t have quite the same affinity for science that Smith does, but it’s a subject that still peaks his interest. Like a lot of kids growing up in the 1970s, Matejka said he wanted to be an astronaut.
Matejka, a professor at Indiana University, said he shares Smith’s goal of getting poetry in front of people who wouldn’t normally otherwise see it. He understands that sentiment from his days at Pike High School, where he graduated in 1990.
“Back then, if you would’ve been writing poetry you would’ve gotten clowned for that,” said Matejka, the author of four collections of poetry, the last of which is about Indianapolis.
Matejka said his dream back in those days was to be a rapper. But it was poetry that found him instead, when he went to a poetry reading with friends and saw how he could combine two of his favorite things: music and words.
With the spirit of Quantum Leap, Smith and Matejka will talk about how science and the humanities are connected. For Smith, poetry is one those links, encouraging people to look at their experiences, for better or worse.
“Our lives are really complicated,” Smith said, “and we sometimes take the opportunity to slow down and peer into those messy places.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
Tracy K. Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and current U.S. Poet Laureate. She teaches at Princeton University and takes poetry to rural communities. (Photo provided by Tracy Smith)
