Mike Smith is called the most revered and most thrilling poet in America but the least recognized, according to Harvard University critic Stephen Burt. Smith gave a poetry reading of his work to DCCC recently. (Photo by Ryan S. Williams) Silence and laughter. Two completely unrelated things. Silence can fill a room and keep everything subtle and calm. Laughter can explode upon a room and create a feeling of euphoria.
Ordinarily, one wouldn’t expect both silence and laughter to exist simultaneously. However, Mike Smith used a mixture of both to keep students interested and relaxed as he shared his poetry with students during Q-time, Oct. 13 at DCCC’s Marple Campus in the Art Gallery.
Stacy Cartledge, assistant professor of English, said the reason Smith was invited to DCCC was because Smith is one of the best poets Cartledge personally knows. It was also an attempt to get students to value and become excited about writing and the language of poetry, Cartledge said, adding, “it was a confluence of opportunity.”
Many may not know who Mike Smith is, but he is revered as the most thrilling but least recognized poet in America by Harvard University critic Stephen Burt. Smith is a graduate of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he holds a bachelor’s degree for creative writing and English literature. In addition, Smith has a master’s degree in creative writing from Hollins College and a master of fine arts terminal degree in creative writing from Notre Dame.
The South Carolina Writers Workshop (SCWW) says Smith has published three chapbooks and has had poems appear in many journals, including the Carolina Quartley, the Iowa Review, the North American Review, Moment, and The Norte Dame Review.
His first full-length collection “How to Make a Mummy,” was published in 2008 and is a visit through history and contemporary culture. CW Books, a publishing company who produces a wide range of poetry that celebrates the diversity of the art today, says Smith utilizes fresh, startling insights from the most vague and common elements of life.
Smith’s newest book “MultiVerse” features anagrams — a word or phrase made by transposing the letters of another word or phrase —as a poetic forum.
The book comprises two sequences: 16 anagrams poems in response to poems by 16 American poets; and 24 poems that are all anagrams of each other, meaning all letters were used again and again in each poem.
“MultiVerse” will be released in December.
Smith read more than a dozen poems from both “MultiVerse” and “How to Make a Mummy” as well as some content not yet released to the public.
His title poem, “How to Make a Mummy,” is derived from a real man, who created actual mummies in West Virginia in the late 19th Century. Smith said he wanted to utilize an authentic scenario of mummy making to write a poem about producing art.
“Tips for a Traveler in the Land of Giants” was a poem that played with the idea of a child’s view of the world and making the familiar less familiar. “Dishwasher Song” and “In the Kitchen” were some of the poems Smith read, based on real events he encountered in his life.
He also read poems from “MultiVerse,” entitled “Snake,” “Hellbender,” “Dog,” “Anecdote of Defeat and Defeat,” and “Monatee.”
Smith’s animated stories, which related to the ideas behind his poetry, prompted laughter among the students, as well as thoughtful silence. The event ended with Cartledge, reading a couple of poems from his own book, “Within the Space Between.”
“I was thrilled and honored to be here,” Smith said. “It’s always a pleasure to encounter bright and interested students of writing and I’m very grateful for the experience.”
Contact Ryan S. Williams at
communitarian@mail.dccc.edu
