The words here are exquisite and had me on edge, which for me as a reader does not occur too often when I read poetry Smith's brilliancy was on full display with her centerpiece poem.įinally, They May Love All That He Has Chosen and Hate All That He Has Rejected pinpoints racial motivated killings during May, 2009. The poem moves to scenes in a jail and death at the hands of land mines, describing the blight of the death when people focus on hatred as opposed to love. Next she segues to describing a father's jailing of his daughter, highlighting the discrepancy between unconditional love and hatred. Smith writes their section in paragraph form as she alternates between their points of view. She begins with two sisters Tina and Anita as they gossip about being in love.
Smith's title selection Life on Mars balances a plethora of emotions as she describes love, sexual violence, family dynamics, war, amongst other topics in a nine part epic. She writes, "I didn't want to believe/What we believe in those rooms: That we are blessed, letting go, Letting someone, anyone /Drag open the drapes and heave us/Back into our blinding, bright lives." Her words grow increasingly more poignant throughout this poem as Smith balances her grief with letting go of her emotions, ending with a crescendo of the dynamic between father and daughter. Writing in alternating couplet and paragraph form, Smith's words are so deep that I felt as though I was also mourning a loved one. The first, The Speed of Belief, pays homage to Smith's late father. Three poems stood out in this collection.
In poetry that is a mix of free verse, prose, letters, and songs, Smith delivers powerful words in a four part opus. Upon hearing that Tracy K Smith had been named the United States poet laureate for the next year, I decided to read her 2012 Pulitzer winning collection Life on Mars. For 2017 I have set a goal for myself to read a minimum of twenty Pulitzer winners across all platforms.
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