U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith to visit Indiana this fall

U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will travel to Indiana for a poetry tour from Nov. 27 to Nov. 29. Indiana Humanities, in partnership with Brick Street Poetry and the Indianapolis Public Library, will fund and organize the events in Greencastle, Hanover, Indianapolis and Shelbyville. The tour will serve as the closing program for Indiana Humanities’ two-year thematic initiative called Quantum Leap which explores the spirit of possibility and problem solving that happens when we bridge the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields with the humanities (poetry, literature, history, philosophy, religion, world languages and culture, etc.).  

 

Smith, whose book of poetry “Life on Mars” won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2011, was in part inspired by her father’s work as an engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope and includes science fiction and cosmic themes.

 

At each location, Smith will be paired with a local moderator for a special INconversation and take questions from the audience. All events will be free and open to the public. In Indianapolis Smith will be joined by Indiana Poet Laureate Adrian Matejka on Nov. 29. Matejka, who grew up in Indianapolis and now teaches at Indiana University, has also written about space themes in his critically acclaimed book of poetry “Map to the Stars.” Smith will visit Hanover on Nov. 27 and Greencastle and Shelbyville on Nov. 28; moderators for those locations will be announced soon.

 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Tracy to Indiana and help Hoosiers discover new poems that are relatable and fun as well as serious and important,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities. “We are inspired by her passion and mission to help spread the word that poetry is for everyone.”

 

Tickets will be limited and available on July 1 at IndianaHumanities.org/PoetryTour.