Former poet laureate Tracy K. Smith's 'plea for the American soul'
On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti
WBUR
4.3 • 3.9K Ratings
🗓️ 22 November 2023
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith has a new memoir. In it, she discovers a surprise in her late father’s military records that changed how she sees herself as a Black woman in America.
About:
Hosted by Meghna Chakrabarti, On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Its unique combination of original reporting, first-person stories, and in-depth analysis creates an experience that makes the world more intelligible and humane. Deep dives. Original stories. Fresh takes.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, it's Meghna here with a small request before today's episode. |
| 0:03.4 | We really appreciate that you listen to the Onpoint podcast, but we'd like to know a little bit more |
| 0:08.8 | about your listening preferences so that we can serve you better. |
| 0:12.2 | If you've got a few minutes to take the on-point survey, |
| 0:15.0 | it would be a huge help. |
| 0:17.0 | It's at WBU.org |
| 0:18.0 | slash survey, or click the link in the episode show notes. |
| 0:22.0 | Now, on with today's show. |
| 0:25.3 | This is on point. |
| 0:26.4 | I'm Megna Chakrabardi. |
| 0:28.0 | Tracy K Smith is one of America's most celebrated living poets. |
| 0:32.8 | She's a Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate. |
| 0:36.6 | She won the Pulitzer in 2012 for her brave and tender collection, Life on Mars. |
| 0:42.2 | As Poet Laureate, she traveled the United States from 2017 to 2019, |
| 0:47.0 | listening to the poetry of life, tradition, and history in America's rural places. |
| 0:53.0 | That led to the project American Conversations |
| 0:56.0 | Celebrating Poems in Rural Communities. |
| 0:59.0 | Her latest work is a memoir. |
| 1:02.0 | It's called To Free the Captives, |
| 1:04.3 | a plea for the American soul. |
| 1:06.4 | And she joins us today in the on point studio. |
| 1:09.1 | Tracy K Smith, it is always a thrill to the heart and mind |
... |
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