About
The Anderson Center is honored to welcome poet Tracy K. Smith to the Tower View Barn on Friday, October 1, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. for a public reading as part of the Books in the Barn series. General Admission tickets are $25 for the public and $15 for Anderson Center members and youth under 18.
A Happy Hour Meet & Greet with Tracy K. Smith is taking place at 5:30 p.m. at Tower View’s newly renovated East Residence. Tickets are $75 and include admission to both the reading and the happy hour event, which features complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Space is limited.
In 2017, Tracy K. Smith was appointed by the Library of Congress as the 22nd United States Poet Laureate. She is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Ordinary Light (Knopf, 2015) and five books of poetry, including her upcoming Such Color (Graywolf, 2021). Her collection Life on Mars won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize and was selected as a New York Times Notable Book. Duende won the 2006 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and an Essence Literary Award. The Body’s Question was the winner of the 2002 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Smith was the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writers Award in 2004 and a Whiting Award in 2005. In 2014 the Academy of American Poets awarded Smith with the Academy Fellowship, awarded to one poet each year to recognize distinguished poetic achievement. She is the Roger S. Berlind ’52 Professor in the Humanities, and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University.
The Atlantic describes Smith as the “country’s poetic caretaker, calling both for collective reckoning and collective empathy.” Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, has been quoted by the New York Times: “Smith takes on issues like death and spirituality and history and makes them relatable. These aren’t simple poems, but they are direct, and you can get into them based on your experience.”
Books in the Barn is a three-part reading series, sponsored by Graywolf Press and the Xcel Energy Foundation, that offers a wide-ranging look at the work of contemporary writers. Books will be available for purchase and signing following each reading. Participating writers are also presenting an outreach event in the Red Wing community, providing further opportunities to share their work with a broader audience.
NOTICE: All patrons must provide proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test at the door prior to the event. Phone photos of vaccination cards will be accepted. Further precautions may be taken pending state and county health guidelines.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
ASL interpretation is available upon request. To request interpretation, please contact Stephanie at [email protected] or 651-388-2009 at least two weeks prior to the event.
Please note: this event is rescheduled from October 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic
Sponsored by Graywolf Press and Xcel Energy Foundation