Review of Tracy K. Smith’s Appearance at SFB

Review by Eric Steineger

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K.

Smith’s presentation at The Southern Festival of Books. Her new book, Fear Less:

Poetry in Perilous Times, is due out in November, and she previewed a few chapters,

interviewed by one of her former students, Lana Reeves, who is herself an

accomplished poet. Smith described her book as a craft book, yes, but also a guidebook

(I’m paraphrasing, here) that helps demystify poetry and even likens it [poetry] to

encountering a friendly stranger. The conversation may be awkward at first, but

gradually both parties warm to each other and may be surprised, delighted to discover

connections.

Having just read her Pulitzer Prize-winning book Life on Mars (2011) cover-to-

cover, I knew Smith was an amazing poet. What took me aback, though, seeing her in person,

was how good of a listener she is. This is a human who really sits with a question,

empathetic and wise—a human who is grateful to be in conversation with others. During

her tenure as Poet Laureate, she traveled to rural areas across the country, speaking to

crowds, listening to their stories, their dreams and disappointments, and doing some of

the things that Fear Less does: teaching people to embrace the poetic unknown. She

recounted a trip to Kentucky where a girl asked her, “When did you feel like you had

stories to tell?” That a young girl felt comfortable asking Smith that question speaks to the 

inclusiveness and ease-in-being she cultivates.

Generous, too. Occasionally, the name of a poem or a concept would come up

in conversation with Reeves, and Smith would stop and genuinely ask the audience

something like “Should I just find the poem (or chapter) and read it?” One such moment

came when she read her erasure poem “Declaration,” a stunning take on The

Declaration of Independence that explores its inherent contradictions. After the poem, Reeves

asked a question about Smith’s frequent use of em dashes in “Declaration,” and Smith

characterized them as “a diving board, an invitation to the reader to jump in.” Craft

meets generosity. In her presentation and in reading from Fear Less, she shared the

work of other poets including Mark Doty and Danez Smith, the act of which is a form of

community.

Smith also spoke of a poetry of witness and documentary poetry. Before listening

to her, I would have categorized “poetry of witness” as a subgenre, perhaps popularized

by the earlier work of Carolyn Forché. At present, after listening to her speak and

meeting her later at the Parnassus tent for a book signing, I am inclined to think of all

poetry as a poetry of witness to some degree, stirring us to explore dialogue as well as

the silences between.

Eric Steineger, also known as Charles Steineger, teaches English in Nashville. For ten years, he was the 

Senior Poetry Editor of The Citron Review, and his creative work has been featured in such places as 

Waxwing, The Los Angeles Review, Asheville Poetry Review, and Rattle: The Poets Respond. He is one 

part of The Nashville Poetry Party with poet and founder Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum and Karen Carr. 

His first full-length book of poetry is slated for publication in early 2027.