Read to Create: A workshop with Monica Youn and Krystal Tribbett featuring the poetry of Tracy K. Smith

In this workshop, poet Monica Youn (UCI English) and curator Krystal Tribbett (UCI Libraries) will explore “Declaration,” a short poem by former Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. How does Smith use a simple technique called erasure to transform a familiar historical document into a compellingly contemporary poem about the world we live in now, and how we got here? And how can you practice this technique yourself, as a tool for self-expression and historical dialogue? Participants will complete the workshop with a poem of their own.

Tracy K. Smith reads her poem, “Declaration”

Tracy K. Smith talks about the technique of erasure

Zoom meeting, free and open to all.

Please hear Tracy K. Smith read her poetry live for the UCI campus and community on October 21, 2021 at 5:00pm PDT: https://www.humanities.uci.edu/SOH/calendar/event_details.php?eid=9254

The workshop and poetry reading are a joint project of the Humanities Center and Illuminations: The Chancellors Arts and Culture Initiative, under the 2021-22 theme, “To form a more perfect union?” Additional support from the Campus Climate Council, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Division of Undergraduate Education, and the UCI Libraries.