This winter, students in every Deerfield English class not only wrestled with Life on Mars, a poetry collection by decorated poet Tracy K. Smith, but also had the opportunity to see Ms. Smith’s work through her own eyes.
From January 22 to 24, Ms. Smith visited Deerfield for three days for a poetry reading, a book signing, a Q&A session, and several workshops.
English Department Chair Anna Steim said, “There were moments in my classes when it felt like we were honing in on what [Ms. Smith] was up to and what she’s thinking about, but we’ll never know what the author was thinking or what they were trying to do in that particular moment.” She continued, “What’s amazing about having somebody visit is that they get to pull back and share that.”
Visits from poets like Ms. Smith are neither unusual nor unprecedented at Deerfield. Every year, the English Department discusses authors to possibly invite. According to Ms. Steim, over the ten years she has been at Deerfield, most of these guests have been poets. She said, “We feel strongly that poetry is something we’re able to expose ourselves to, and we’re excited to do that.”
In August 2022, former English Department Chair Christian Austin signed a contract for Ms. Smith’s visit. The booking process was similar to how the school invited playwrite Quiara Alegría Hudes, known for Water by the Spoonful and In the Heights, to campus last year.
Nonetheless, Ms. Smith’s visit stands out from those conducted in the past due to the multiple writing workshops offered during her time on campus. Ms. Steim said, “In previous years, we’ve had visiting writers do a full school reading, a book signing, then maybe a Q&A if it’s possible, but this year, we actually had a much more robust program than that.” She continued, “Students in every class of English [were] able to go to a workshop with Tracy Smith for her to shed light both on her own poetry that she’s written but also on what it’s like to be a poet and how students can think about doing that work themselves.”
Thomas Lu ’23 reflected on the workshop with Ms. Smith and said, “She has the same outlook as us, but presents it in a way that that opened my mind.”
As a Pulitzer Prize winner, former United States Poet Laureate, and Harvard professor, Ms. Smith embodies writing multilaterally. In an exclusive interview with the Scroll, “I write because it helps me think,” she said. She added, “I think more fully, more courageously, slowly, and intentionally, which helps me make sense of life and the world that I’m aware I participate in but don’t always feel safe in.”
Ms. Smith’s work, including pieces she shared during her poetry reading, explores citizenship, nationhood, and American voices she believes history needs to learn more from.
Asked about a potential world of poetry generated by artificial intelligence, Ms. Smith said, “I believe literature is something bigger than those things.” She explained, “I want to do the work of wrestling with human failure, human wish, and the shortcomings that need to be claimed and worked through that other humans are bringing to the page.”