We are wrapping up our Bexley Centennial A uthor Series with Bexley's beloved hometown poet\, writer\, editor\, and t eacher\, Maggie Smith\, in conversation with the Kirkus Prize-winning auth or\, poet\, and podcast host\, Saeed Jones. Maggie and Saeed will discuss their lives\, poetry\, and love of libraries with the witty\, humorous\, a nd open-hearted introspection for which they are both known.
\nMaggi e Smith's memoir\, \;You Could Make This Place Beautiful (One Signal Publishers\, 2023)\, is a NYT Bestseller\, was named to \; NPR's and Time's \;"Best Books of 2023" lists\, and has been called\, "Rich in nuance and unrelenting in its honesty...a bitterswe et study in both grief and joy" -- Time\, and\, "a sparklingly br illiant memoir-in-vignettes that only Maggie Smith could write" -- Isaac F itzgerald\, NYT bestselling author of \;Dirtbag\, Massachusetts. \;
\nSaeed Jones's latest collection of poetry\, \;A live at the End of the World \;(Coffee House Press\, 2022)\, won the 2023 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award\, was named to \;The New Yorker 's\, NPR's\, \;and \;Publishers Weekly's \;"Best Books of 2022" lists\, and has been called\, "Personal and universal\, fu ll of grief and sadness but also packed with hope and humor\, stylish and entertaining but also profound and touching" -- Gabino Iglesias\, NPR\, an d\, "A serious argument for community and the rebellion of joy" -- United States Poet Laureate\, Ada Limó\;n.
\nMaggie and Saeed will be signing books following their conversation. Thank you to \;Gramercy Books \;for partnering with us and making onsite books available f or purchase. Purchase your books ahead of the program\, 10% of online book sales through Gramercy's \;Centennial Author Series \;page w ill be donated to the Bexley Community Author Series Fund at the Bexley Co mmunity Foundation. \;
\nAbout the Authors:
\nMaggie Smith is the \;New York Times&nb sp\;bestselling author of \;You Could Make This Place Beautiful\; the national bestsellers \;Goldenrod \;and \;Keep Moving: Notes on Loss\, Creativity\, and Change\; as well as&nb sp\;Good Bones\, named one of the Best Five Poetry Books of 2017 by the \;Washington Post \;and winner of \;the 2018 I ndependent Publisher Book Awards \;Gold Medal in Poetry\; \;Th e Well Speaks of Its Own Poison\, winner of the 2012 Dorset Prize and the 2016 \;Independent Publisher Book Awards \;Gold Medal in Poet ry\; and \;Lamp of the Body\, winner of the 2003 Benjamin Sal tman Award. Maggie Smith&rsquo\;s latest book\, \;My Thoughts Have Wings\, \;a picture book illustrated by SCBWI Portfolio grand pr ize winner Leanne Hatch\, is now available from Balzer + Bray/HarperCollin s.
\nA 2011 recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the Nati onal Endowment for the Arts\, Smith has also received several Individual E xcellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council\, two Academy of American Poet s Prizes\, a Pushcart Prize\, and fellowships from the Sustainable Arts Fo undation and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She has been widel y published\, appearing in \;The New York Times\, \;The New Yo rker\, \;The Paris Review\, \;The Best American Poetry\, and more. You can follow her on social media @MaggieSmithPoet.
\nSaeed Jones \;is the author of the memoir HOW WE FIGHT F OR OUR LIVES\, winner of the 2019 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction\, and t he poetry collection PRELUDE TO BRUISE\, winner of the 2015 PEN/J oyce Osterweil Award for Poetry. His poetry and essays have appeared in th e New Yorker\, New York Times\, Oxford American and GQ\, among other publications. His latest poetry collection\, \;ALIVE AT THE END OF THE WORLD\, was released in 2022 to wide acclaim and wo n the 2023 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.
\nRegistration require d. Join us in person\, or live stream this \;program \;on BPL's YouTube channel.
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