Clint Smith Celebrates Complexities of Parenthood in ‘Above Ground’
We talk to Smith about his poetry and what he calls the “simultaneity of the human experience:” our capacity to hold fear and anxiety alongside joy and awe.
April 11, 2023
55 min
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1,754 of 3,393
April 11, 2023
Clint Smith Celebrates Complexities of Parenthood in ‘Above Ground’
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55:48This episodeClint Smith Celebrates Complexities of Parenthood in ‘Above Ground’
Summary
“I experience your wounds as if they were my own,” reads the last line of Clint Smith’s poem “Nociception.” Directed to a child, it explains that just as a sea creature that loses an appendage feels discomfort across its entire body, so does a parent whose child is in pain. The poem is part of Smith’s new collection “Above Ground,” which also celebrates the joy, wonder and even occasional absurdity of being a parent. We talk to Smith about his poetry and what he calls the “simultaneity of the human experience:” our capacity to hold fear and anxiety alongside joy and awe.
Guests:
Clint Smith, poet and staff writer, The Atlantic - His new collection of poetry is "Above Ground." His previous books include "How the Word is Passed."
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