AMERICAN JOURNAL - Fifty Poems for Our Time - Selected and with an Introduction by Tracy K. Smith

Sep 29, 2026

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Selected and introduced by Tracy K. Smith, this volume gathers fifty poems reflecting the experiences, voices, and tensions of contemporary life. Organized into five numbered sections, it presents literary works by prominent poets, moving from intimate accounts of early surroundings to themes of darkness, memory, speech, and endurance. The book includes an introduction by Smith and acknowledges publication support and permissions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages132

Reading Time3 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: This Is Why by Tracy K. Smith

I. The Small Town of My Youth

II. Something Shines Out from Every Darkness

III. Words Tangled in Debris

IV. Here, the Sentence Will Be Respected

V. One Singing Thing

SELE C TED AND INT RODU CED BY TRACY K.SMITH # AMERICAN JOURNAL BOOKS BY TRACY K.SMITH # Poetry The Body's QuestionDuendeLife on MarsWade in the Water Memoir Ordinary Light # AMERICAN JOURNALFIFTY POEMS FOR OUR TIME SELECTED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY TRACY K.SMITH Permission acknowledgments appear on pages 115-120. This publication is made possible,in part,by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota StateArts Board Operating Support grant,thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts andcultural heritage fund,and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation.Significant support hasalso been provided by Target,the McKnight Foundation,the Lannan Foundation,the AmazonLiterary Partnership,and othergenerous contributions from foundations,corporations,and indi-viduals.To these organizations and individuals we offer our heartfelt thanks TARGET. MINNESOTA Published by Graywolf Press,in association with the Library of Congress250 Third Avenue North,Suite 600Minneapolis,Minnesota 55401 All rights reserved. www.graywolfpress.rg Published in the United States of AmericaPrinted in Canada ISBN 978-1-55597-838-9(cloth) ISBN 978-1-55597-815-0(paper) 4689753 Library of Congress Control Number:2018934515(cloth),2018934515(paper) Cover design:Kyle G.Hunter Cover art:Upper left:In1993,Thomas Crauford's Statue ofFreedom zuas removed by belicopter from theU.S.Capitol domefor restoration.Washington,D.C.,by Carol Highsmith,1993.CarolM.HighsmithArchive,Library of Congress,Prints and Photographs Division,LC-DIG-highsm-13969.Upperright:Maria Gomez,34662nd Ave.,LA,by Camilo Jose Vergara,2003.Library of Congress,Prints&Photographs Division,LC-DIG-vrg-00309.Lower leftRichard Ortiz is a migrant worker inNipomo,California,wbere famous pbotograpber Dorotbea Lange took a pbotograpb of the MigrantMotberFlorence Owens Thompson in the 1930s,by Carol Highsmith,2013.The Jon B.LovelaceCollection of California Photographs in Carol M.Highsmith's America Project,Library ofCongress,Prints and Photographs Division,LC-DIG-highsm-25212.Lower right(top):"Sno-cone"stand,New Orleans,Louisiana,by Carol Highsmith,between 1980 and 2006.Carol M.HighsmithArchive,Library of Congress,Prints and Photographs Division,LC-DIG-highsm-13991.Lowerright(bottom):Aerialviewof mountaintopremoval,approacbing Racine,by Lyntha Scott Eiler,1995.Coal River Folklife Collection(AFC1999/008),Library of Congress,American Folklife Center 3 Introduction:This Is Why by Tracy K.Smith I.THE SMALL TOWN OF MY YOUTH 9"Second Estrangement"by Aracelis Girmay 10“In Defense of Small Towns”by Oliver de la Paz 12“N'em”by Jericho Brown 13“Flat as a Flitter”by Melissa Range 16“Sugar and Brine:Ella's Understanding”by Vievee Francis 17“The Field Trip”by Ellen Bryant Voigt 19“Mighty Pawns”by Major Jackson 21 from"summer,somewhere"by Danez Smith 22“Walking Home”by Marie Howe 23“Music from Childhood”by John Yau 25“Girls Overheard While Assembling a Puzzle”by Mary Szybist 27“Passing”by Charif Shanahan II.SOMETHING SHINES OUT FROM EVERY DARKNESS 31"'Let me tellyou about my marvelous god'"by Susan Stewart 32"Sister as Moving Object"by Jan Beatty 35 from"The Split"by Susan Wheeler 37“The Hypno-Domme Speaks,and Speaks and Speaks”by Patricia Lockwood 39“The Poet at Fifteen”by Erika L.Sanchez 42“My Brother at 3 AM”by Natalie Diaz 44“Reverse Suicide”by Matt Rasmussen 45“Charlottesville Nocturne”by Charles Wright 46“Downhearted”by Ada Limón 47“becoming a horse”by Ross Gay 48“After the Diagnosis”by Christian Wiman 50“Heart/mind”by Laura Kasischke III.WORDS TANGLED IN DEBRIS53“Who's Who”by Cathy Park Hong 56 "Minimum Wage"by Matthew Dickman57“Proximities”by Lia Purpura59"Story of Girls"by Tina Chang 61 “Fourth Grade Autobiography”by Donika Kelly62“No”byJoy Harjo 64"The Long Deployment"byJehanne Dubrow65 from“Personal Effects”by Solmaz Sharif 67“We Lived Happily during the War”by Ilya Kaminsky68“Phantom Noise”by Brian Turn

FAQs

How is the book AMERICAN JOURNAL organized?

It is structured into an introduction and five numbered sections: I through V, each grouping multiple poems.

Who provides the introduction to this collection?

Tracy K. Smith provides the introduction titled "This Is Why."

How many poems are included in the collection?

The volume is titled "FIFTY POEMS FOR OUR TIME," indicating fifty poems are included.

Sep 29, 2026

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