In Wade in the Water, past Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith boldly ties Americas contemporary moment both to our nations fraught founding history and to a sense of the spirit, the everlasting. These are poems of sliding scale: some capture a flicker of song or memory; some collage an array of documents and voices; and some push past the known world into the haunted, the holy. Smiths signature voiceinquisitive, lyrical, and wryturns over what it means to be a citizen, a mother, and an artist in a culture arbitrated by wealth, men, and violence. Hardcover; 88 pages.

The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congresscommonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureateserves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry. The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry is appointed annually by the Librarian of the United States Congress and serves from October to May.

Item number 21108259