Saturday Poetry – ‘Everybody’s Autobiography’ by Tracy K. Smith
Saturday Poetry – ‘Everybody’s Autobiography’ by Tracy K. Smith
This week’s Saturday Poetry brings you the soul-stirring poem titled ‘Everybody’s Autobiography’ by Tracy K. Smith. She is the author of Such Color: New and Selected Poems(Graywolf Press, 2021), Wade in the Water (Graywolf Press, 2018), winner of the 2019 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Poetry, Life on Mars (Graywolf Press, 2011), winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and Duende (Graywolf Press, 2007), which received the 2006 James Laughlin Award. Smith served as the poet laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She explained ‘this poem emerged from a dream that challenged me to embrace a wider radius of compassion in my daily living. It has, for me, become a kind of psalm for living in a world at war, and maintaining an investment in the safety and sanctity of strangers’.
For this edition of Saturday Poetry, we have paired Tracey Smith’s emotive words with mobile art by the talented @zal.riani with the captivating artwork entitled ‘Fuji in Rio…’ complementing the poem’s essence beautifully, creating a symphony of emotions.
To view the others we have published in this section, go here.
via Poets.org
Saturday Poetry – ‘Everybody’s Autobiography’ by Tracy K. Smith
I find myself most alone
When I believe I am striving for glory.
These times, cool and sharp,
A monument of moon-white stone
lodges in place near my heart.
In a dream, my children
Glisten inside raindrops, or teardrops.
Like strangers, like seeds of children.
I will only be allowed to claim them
if I consent to love everyone’s children.
If I consent to love everyone’s children,
Only then will I be allowed to claim them,
My strangers, my seeds of children,
Glistening inside raindrops or teardrops
In my dream. Children
Lodged in place near my heart—
A monument of moon-white stone,
Cool and sharp.
I believe I am striving for glory
When I find myself most alone.
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Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
