Patricia Smith (poet) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patricia Smith
Reading at the Library of Congress, 2013
Born	1955 (age 69–70) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Slam poet spoken-word performer playwright author writing teacher journalist
Genre	Poetry
Notable awards	Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize | 2021 Four-time National Poetry Slam champion
Spouse	Bruce DeSilva

Patricia Smith (born in 1955) is an amazing American poet, performer, and teacher. She writes plays and books too! Patricia is known for her powerful spoken-word performances. She has shared her poems in many famous magazines and books. She also teaches writing at universities like Princeton University.

Patricia Smith is a four-time champion of the National Poetry Slam. This is a competition where poets perform their original work. She even appeared in a movie called SlamNation in 1996. This film showed different poetry teams competing.

Patricia Smith was the first African-American woman to write a weekly column for the Boston Globe newspaper. She has won many important awards for her writing. These include a Guggenheim fellowship and two Pushcart Prizes. She is one of the most successful poets in the National Poetry Slam.

A Poet's Journey

Patricia Smith's poems have been featured in many literary magazines. These include The Paris Review and TriQuarterly. Her work is also in dozens of poetry collections. Some of these are The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry and The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry.

She has performed her poetry all over the world. She has read her poems in places like Stockholm, South Africa, and Germany. In the U.S., she has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Dodge Poetry Festival.

One of her books, Blood Dazzler, was turned into a dance and theater show. It was very popular in New York City. A play based on her poems was also created by Nobel Prize-winner Derek Walcott. Another play, based on her book Life According to Motown, was performed in Hartford, Connecticut.

Patricia Smith shared how she started writing poetry. She said she first found poetry through performing on stage. She loved performing her poems at slam poetry nights in Chicago. This became a big part of her life. People soon saw her poems as true literature, not just performances. They encouraged her to take her writing seriously.

She wrote four poetry books before joining a special writing program. She learned a lot about language there. But she says she became a poet and found her unique voice long before her academic studies. Because she was already a successful poet, she felt free to explore her writing in school.

Besides her poetry and journalism, Patricia Smith has performed in one-woman plays. She also appeared in the film SlamNation. This film helped start a new era of poetry. Her work is in many important poetry collections. She also teaches poetry to people of all ages, from young children to senior citizens.

Her Books

Early Works

Patricia Smith's first book was Life According to Motown. It was published in 1991. This book, like much of her poetry, is about her childhood in Chicago in the 1960s. It shares lessons learned from the good and tough times of the Motown era. After this, she published Big Towns, Big Talks. This book continues to explore life after childhood in Chicago.

In 1993, Smith published Close to Death. This book explores the challenges faced by young black men in big cities. It gives a voice to those who feel they have run out of choices. Critics praised her ability to capture the voices of these men. Publishers Weekly said she had an "acute ear for the intricacies of speech."

Her book Teahouse of the Almighty is a collection of free-verse poems. These poems cover many topics. They include love, family, religion, and the role of poetry. One poem is about a real event where a boy gave his heart to his girlfriend. Another poem shares her thoughts on religion and her Baptist upbringing. Many critics loved this book. One called it a "stunning mix of sound and sense."

History and Art

Patricia Smith also wrote a history book called Africans in America: American's Journey through Slavery. This book was made to go with a PBS television series.

Her collection Incendiary Art explores the experiences of African-American people. It looks at the killing of Emmett Till as a backdrop. This book uses different poetry styles, like prose and sonnets.

In Gotta Go Gotta Flow, Patricia Smith combines her poems with photos by Michael Abramson. The photos show Chicago's South Side in the 1970s. One reviewer said it was "a supremely arresting and affecting match of potent images and singing words."

Award-Winning Poetry

For her book Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah, Smith won three awards. These include the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. This collection has poems about Chicago and Detroit. It talks about first love, Motown, and personal journeys. A judge for one of the awards said her poems "plunge to the soul-depths of the people who inhabit them."

Awards and Recognition

Poetry Awards

Patricia Smith has won many awards for her poetry. Her book Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah won the 2014 Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry. She was also a finalist for the National Book Award in 2008. Other awards include the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry and the Carl Sandburg Literary Award. She has won two Pushcart Prizes.

In 2006, she was added to the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent. Her book "Incendiary Art" won the NAACP Image Award. It was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. This collection also won the 2018 Kingsley Tufts poetry award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for poetry.

Journalism Awards

As a journalist, Smith won the Distinguished Writing Award for Commentary in 1997.

About Her Life

Patricia Smith was born in 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. She studied at Southern Illinois University and Northwestern University.

She is married to Bruce DeSilva. He is also a journalist and an award-winning author. Patricia Smith lives in Howell, New Jersey.

See also

• Poetry slam