Tracy K Smith at Central Library

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Tracy K Smith
Poet Tracy K Smith.

Tracy K Smith at Manchester Central Library, Manchester 14 June 2019 Tickets from £6 — Book now

This is your chance to catch the Poet Laureate of the United States, Tracy K Smith, in a rare UK appearance. Organised by Manchester Literature Festival in the lead-up to this year’s main programme, running 4 to 20 October, this is hopefully a tasty snifter of what to expect this autumn.

Released at the end of May with Penguin, Tracy’s “best of”, Eternity: Selected Poems spans almost 20 years and gathers together work from her four collections to date: The Body’s Question (2003), Duende (2007), Life On Mars (2011), for which she won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, and last year’s Wade In The Water, which was shortlisted for both the Forward Prize and the TS Eliot Prize.

“Poetry isn’t an escape or even a luxury. I’d argue it’s a necessity, a means of living more deeply with reality,” she has said, and her poetry has been described by others as “powerful and tender” (ELLE) and “an awakening itself” (Vogue), while New York Magazine said it “deftly illuminates America’s generational wounds”.

The 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States, Tracy K Smith’s poems encompass everything from religion to money, spoken of “as if it were a mysterious lover / Who went out to buy milk and never / Came back”

The 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States, a position which Tracy K Smith took on in 2017, the New Yorker calls her a “storyteller” and her poems encompass everything from religion (God is sought “In Bibles and bandwidth”; her “emissaries” are Hell’s Angels) to money, spoken of “as if it were a mysterious lover / Who went out to buy milk and never / Came back”, in between taking on the big questions: life, death, power, politics, the environment, motherhood and race. She considers the role of black women in society and their own families, and explores their lives (and her own) through their bodies, their desires, their adventures and their experiences. There are compilations of sources, borrowings and “based-upons”, and nods to all kinds of kindred spirits, from David Bowie to Pablo Neruda. There are found poems, epistolary pieces and even verbatim histories of slavery and the American Civil War. And contrasting the worst of humanity, the treat of roast chicken and the pleasure of greasy spoon eggs are equally not forgotten.

For this special MLF event, Tracy will perform poems from Wade In The Water and Eternity: Selected Poems. Author of the memoir Ordinary Light, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, Tracy also teaches at Princeton University in the States, and she will discuss her extraordinary career – aged still only 47 – with Manchester-based poet and Scottish Makar Jackie Kay.

Tracy K Smith at Manchester Central Library, Manchester 14 June 2019

Book Now
Gerry Potter (credit Lee Baxter)
LiteratureManchester
Word Central at Central Library

Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press present Word Central, a free event every month featuring open mic performers and a special guest.

free entry

What's on: Literature

Sarah Autumn
Until
LiteratureLeeds
Radical Reading Book Group at Left Bank Leeds

Join the Radical Reading Book Group every six weeks to discuss a book from The Reading Room Library – which you can find at Left Bank Leeds in collaboration with London-based independent radical publishers Pluto Press.

free entry
Until
LiteratureLiverpool
Poetry Walk at The Reader in Liverpool

Every Thursday morning you’re invited to join the Poetry Walk with The Reader in Calderstones Park. Get into the great outdoors and escape the everyday, while exploring poetry and making the most of the beautiful surroundings in a safe and socially distanced way.

free entry

Culture Guides

Music

We go all in on festivals, with a round-up of everything from city-spanning giants to grassroots gems you may not know about.

Exhibitions

There's no rest for the art lover - this month brings outdoor sculpture, musings on water, political drawings and Liverpool Biennial 2023!

Classical Music

Summer's classical music calendar is filling up nicely! Read our top picks of concerts happening in Manchester and the North.

Winnie the Pooh at Manchester Opera House
Families

The sun has finally got his hat on! Enjoy our top picks of family-friendly events and activities, both indoors and outdoors.

Gerry Potter (credit Lee Baxter)
Literature

Books are big this summer, with festival readings, poetry slams, creative writing activities and famous faces all putting in an appearance.

Food and Drink

All signs point toward June being a scorcher of a month, so let’s take a look at all things summery food and drink.

Tours and Activities

From literary activities to brilliant independent shops, keep your minds and homes filled with the good stuff this month.

Theatre in Manchester
Theatre

Check out our updated guide for lively theatre festivals, rip-roaring rooftop circus and dreamy outdoor shows.