After cutting most social media out, I’ve found a return to the joy scroll, not unlike the ol’ days o’ the 2000s-Internet. Such careful curation has led to some pretty kick-butt (content) creators. Namely, I’ve been finding poets sprinkled through suggested posts, like Tracy K. Smith.
One of Smith’s pinned posts on social media is a reflection on, “how does poetry matter?” and “why does poetry matter?” And her answer is stunning, speaking to the individual and collective finding that comes from poetry. To Smith, poetry is not just cognitive, it’s a call to living fuller.
And that’s what these staying committed posts are about. Being curious. Digging deeper. Seeking new answers. Believing in creativity, as anticipation, expression, and action.
Before the ‘Gram, Smith’s wrote, such as her first poetry book, The Body’s Question, in 2003. The poetry collection Life on Mars, a tribute to her pops, who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope. Maybe it was the first poem’s nod to my new job – I’m going to be a librarian in a rural community, starting next week – or perhaps it’s just dang good. The book earned her a Pulitzer, and rightly so.
Furthermore, Smith’s influence expands beyond the page. Whether you found her due to social, remember her time as a U.S. Poet Laureate in 2017, from just browsing the library, or discovering Smith here, her accessible poems foster conversations on memory (another one of my passions!), race, and spirituality. So go check out her books!