In episode 188 of the Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber is joined by author Tracy K. Smith. In this conversation, Paul and Tracy discuss the intensity of this moment in history, and explore the precision and power of poetry. Tracy describes the necessity for working together to develop a new vocabulary, and shares her thoughts about the essential role poetry plays in saving the soul of America.Tracy reads her poem We Feel Now a Largeness Coming On, and the pair unpack ideas about reanimating imagination and conquering fear. In advance of publishing, Tracy then shares part of a poem called benediction by Joshua Bennett, chosen from There’s a Revolution Outside, edited by Tracy Smith and John Freeman. Paul and Tracy elaborate about the multiplicity of possibility that imagination provides, and how poetic vocabulary helps us all to reclaim joy in these calamitous times. Tracy K. Smith is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of four books of poetry, most recently Wade in the Water, winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. She is also the editor of the anthology American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time, and cotranslator (with Changtai Bi) of My Name Will Grow Wide Like a Tree: Selected Poems by Yi Lei. Smith’s memoir, Ordinary Light, was named a finalist for the National Book Award. From 2017 to 2019, she served as the twenty-second Poet Laureate of the United States. She is currently a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.Credits:Paul Holdengraber - Co-Creator, Host, OLA DirectorAnthony Audi - Co-Creator, Researcher, OLA DirectorAlejandro Cohen - Co-Creator, Producer, ComposerChristian Pitt - Production Coordinator Erin Cooney - Copy, ProductionDublab Team