Wade in the Water

"Unrest in Baton Rouge" by Tracy K. Smith (2018)

“Unrest in Baton Rouge” is another ekphrastic poem by Smith. She wrote the poem in response to the 2016 photo of Ieshia Evans, an African American woman, at a Baton Rouge protest against police violence in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling. In the photo, Evans wears a summer dress as she faces a crowd of police officers in full riot gear. Smith’s poem emphasizes the stark juxtaposition as they oppose each other.

"I will tell you the truth about this, I will tell you all about it" by Tracy K. Smith (2018)

When Smith was asked to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War with a poem, she researched and found a book full of first-person accounts of African American veterans of the Civil War, who wrote letters seeking redress for their pensions. Rather than work the material into her words, she decided to let the voices speak for themselves, creating a found poem composed solely from quotes from their voices.

"Political Poem" by Tracy K. Smith (2018)

The title “Political Poem” is ironic because of the expectations it creates. Smith cleverly subverts any overt political discussion in her poem. Instead, her subject matter is a seemingly everyday observation of two mowers as they work. She marvels at how they communicate with each other as they work, ironically suggesting that political conversation should yield similar opportunities for shared experience and productivity.