Eternity: Selected Poems

by Tracy K. Smith

'A poet of extraordinary range and ambition . . . convincing in both the grand gesture and the reverent contemplation of a humble plate of eggs' The New York Times

US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith has gathered this selection spanning her entire remarkable career. From the private experience of desire to the devastations of political strife, these poems enlarge our vocabulary for what it means to live, struggle, grieve and love. 'Smith's poetry is an awakening itself' Vogue 'Deftly, Tracy K. Smith, the reigning poet laureate of the United States, illuminates America's generational wounds' New York Magazine 'Smith is a storyteller who loves to explore how the body can respond to a lover, to family, and to history' Hilton Als, New Yorker

Genres: Poetry

200 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2019

About the author

Tracy K. Smith is the author of Wade in the Water; Life on Mars, winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Duende, winner of the James Laughlin Award; and The Body’s Question, winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize. She is also the editor of an anthology, American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time, and the author of a memoir, Ordinary Light, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. From 2017 to 2019, Smith served as Poet Laureate of the United States. She teaches at Princeton University.

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 5 out of 5]

My poetry collection this week is the collected work of previous U.S. poet laureate Tracy K Smith. I admit to being just a tad biased when I rate her as my favorite contemporary poet. I have previously read all of her collections and her memoir and would read a cereal box if she wrote one. That being said, Eternity has all of Smith’s favorite poems in one place so yay. She set the bar high for her readers if these are her best of work that she selected, so it was tough a second time around to pick my favorites. What I enjoy about Smith is that she moves between genres and can successfully write poetry in an form. That is probably why she has enjoyed the career that she has. Here are a few selections that I enjoyed just as much reading for a second or third time.

Excerpts from Sci-Fi

Having outlived every threat, will gratify
Only the mind, which is where it will exist.

For kicks, we’ll dance for ourselves
Before mirrors studded with golden bulbs.

And yes, we’ll live to be much older, thanks
To popular consensus. Weightless, unhinged,

Eons from even our own moon, we’ll drift
In the haze of space, which will be, once

And for all, scrutable and safe.


From Credulity

There are whole doctrines in living.
A science. I would like to know everything
About convincing love to give me
What it does not possess to give. And then
I would like to know how to live with nothing.
Not memory. Not the taste of words
I have willed you whisper into my mouth.

Other favorites:
My God, It’s Full of Stars
The Speed of Belief
Urban Youth
Refuge

This is one of those rare books that I may have to purchase for myself. I look forward to the day that Smith takes the time to utilize her brilliant mind and develop another new collection of exquisite poems.

*5 stars*

[Daryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to read a bunch of poetry, but I gave up on it years ago because so much of it was just frustrating to read. A few weeks ago, I listened to an interview between Ezra Klein and Tracy K. Smith that convinced me to give her work a try. I think what I've realized, having now read this book, is that poetry really has to be read well aloud to land for me. I tune in more to the sounds than the meanings. And this is why I sort of gave up on poetry so long ago, after my college days when I had a lot more opportunities to hear it aloud. The poems Smith read in that interview sounded marvelous, and the way she and Klein talked about poems really brought me in and made me want to give these poems a try. But so many of them fell flat for me; in spite of trying to be mindful about reading carefully, I'd fine myself kind of scanning lazily down the page and feeling unmoved. A few really did speak to me, though. I think Smith is a good poet, and I've merely become a bad reader of poetry. Some of the stronger work in this collection is the more recent work. The found poems and the erasure poem in the final collection worked especially well for me. I'd love to hear Smith deliver a reading; I don't think I've converted back to a daily poetry reader myself.

[Angelique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her poetry is so smooth and seamless. And I'll be reading along and a line will hit me like a ton of bricks. I had the pleasure of hearing her read and their is a softness and generous spirit to her work. And, poem after poem, she makes magic.

My favourites are numerous and sure will change on re readings:

Betty Blue
Appetite
A Hunger So Honed
Wintering
Joy
History (part 4)
El Mar
Theft
The Universe as Primal Scream
Wade in the Water
Eternity (Nanluoguxiang Alley)

[Cooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are moments of excellance.

Sometimes the subject matter dominates the poetry too much and sometimes it is squashed into poetic form. There are however moments of exquisite poetry. Smith is worth reading because she tries to push at the boundaries of what poetry can be.