Winter Convocation: Lawrence University welcomes poet Patricia Smith

Patricia Smith performing her persona poem on Medusa at the 20205 Winter Convocation in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Photo by Jacob Hanekamp.

On Friday, Jan. 24, Lawrence University held its Winter Term Convocation in Memorial Chapel. This term, the speaker was poet Patricia Smith, who wrote collections such as “Blood Dazzler” (2008) and “Unshuttered: Poems” (2023). Her collection “Blood Dazzler,” about the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, became a part of this year’s First-Year Studies curriculum, making her a perfect choice for speaker. Her newest collection, “Unshuttered,” was the subject of a Main Hall forum earlier this term, which I attended and which inspired me to purchase the book that very evening. Going into the Chapel, I already had an idea of Smith’s talent as a poet and speaker; however, none of that prepared me for the incredible experience of actually listening to her speak.

Smith was introduced by two people, Associate Professor of English Melissa Range and first-year Nick Lubin. Range praised Smith’s poetic talent and did her best to summarize all of her achievements, while Lubin talked about how reading Smith’s impacted him. As Smith walked to the podium, she curtsied and did a little dance, giving me an indication of how well she interacts with her audiences and how amazing of a speaker she is. I was certainly not disappointed. Throughout her speech, she continued to be humorous and down-to-earth (like sharing that her favorite word is “anemone”), making the experience all the more incredible.

Patricia Smith performing her persona poem on Medusa at the 20205 Winter Convocation in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Photo by Jacob Hanekamp.

Listening to Smith speak was an incredible experience. At one point, she switched from prose to poetry so seamlessly that I did not notice till she was halfway through the poem. Smith talked about how she first got into poetry by going to a poetry slam, about persona poems and about “Blood Dazzler.” She gave background context before reading a few of her persona poems, poems where they are from the perspective of a “persona.” For example, Smith would give backstories to characters such as Popeye’s love interest Olive Oil or the racist caricature “Mammy Two Shoes” from “Tom and Jerry.” My favorite persona poem that Smith read from, however, was much more grounded. “The Undertaker” is a poem from the perspective of an undertaker preparing the bodies of young men and boys who died due to gang violence. Smith was inspired to write the poem after getting the chance to witness an undertaker reconstruct the head of a young man who was shot in the head. Smith said that she wanted the poem to tell young men and boys what their parents will have to deal with should they get involved in and be killed by gang violence. I was extremely moved by the excerpt that Smith read. The way she emphasizes certain words, the places she pauses to let the lines sink in, all make the poem that much more powerful.

Smith reading “The Undertaker” led into her talking about the responsibility of poetry. Her poems clearly are meant to make people feel seen as well as sit and think about the society we live in today. Smith often discusses what is not normally discussed in society, such as having a child in prison or dead, or a family member suffering from dementia and dealing with their symptoms. That flowed into Smith talking about her 2008 collection “Blood Dazzler,” all about Hurricane Katrina. The way she talked about trying to get the book published and people’s reactions to those poems still rings true today. Hurricane Katrina, like so many other disasters and tragedies, only had the attention of the public for a short amount of time. When Smith was trying to get the work published, she was told that Katrina would not be relevant by the time it came out, as if there was a timeline to care or write about tragedies. Her words got me thinking about today and how often this still happens, about how I too fall into the trap of only caring about something only for the amount of time it is “trendy” to do so.

I am so grateful that I was able to attend the Convocation and listen to Patricia Smith. She is an incredible speaker and poet and has inspired me to read and write more poetry. I cannot wait to read “Unshuttered: Poems” and get my hands on her other works. To close out the Convocation, Smith read, for the first time, some of her new work and announced that she is writing a collection about turning 70 years old.