U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will read her own work and that of poets she admires, in The Matthews Opera House theatre. Afterwards she will then invite the audience to discuss with her. Because poems put us in touch with our most powerful memories, feelings, questions and wishes, Smith believes that talking about poetry is a way of leaping past small talk and collapsing the distance between strangers. Audience members will receive copies of Smith’s new anthology, American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time.

This event is free and open to the public. There is no reserved seating.