Join the Library and Loyalty Books for the
book release and discussion of Clint Smith's new book\, Above Ground: Poems\, Clint Smith's first book of Poetry since <
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ABOUT THE BOOK
\nA re markable poetry collection from Clint Smith\, the #1 \;New York Times& nbsp\;bestselling and National Book Critics Circle \;award-winning aut hor of \;How the Word Is Passed.
\nClint Smith&rsquo\;s vibrant and compelling new collection traverses the vast emotional terrai n of fatherhood\, and explores how becoming a parent has recalibrated his sense of the world. There are poems that interrogate the ways our lives ar e shaped by both personal lineages and historical institutions. There are poems that revel in the wonder of discovering the world anew through the e yes of your children\, as they discover it for the first time. There are p oems that meditate on what it means to raise a family in a world filled wi th constant social and political tumult. \;Above Ground \ ;wrestles with how we hold wonder and despair in the same hands\, how we c arry intimate moments of joy and a collective sense of mourning in the sam e body. Smith&rsquo\;s lyrical\, narrative poems bring the reader on a jou rney not only through the early years of his children&rsquo\;s lives\, but through the changing world in which they are growing up&mdash\;through th e changing world of which we are all a part.
\nAbove Ground \;is a breathtaking collection that follows Smith's first award-winni ng book of poetry\, \;Counting Descent.
\nABOUT THE AUT HOR
\nClint Smith \;is a staff writer at \;The Atlantic. He is the author of the narrative nonfiction book\, \;How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America\, whi ch was a #1 \;New York Times \;bestseller\, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction\, the Hillman Prize for Book Jou rnalism\, and selected by the \;New York Times \;as one of the 10 best books of 2021. He is also the author of the poetry collection \;< em>Counting Descent\, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poet ry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. His writing has been published in&nbs p\;The New Yorker\, The New York Times Magazine\, Poetry Magazine\, The Pa ris Review. \;and elsewhere. Clint received his B.A. in English from D avidson College and a Ph.D. in Education from Harvard University.
\nABOUT THE IN CONVERSATION PARTNER
\nElizabeth Acevedo \;is the&n bsp\;New York \;Times-bestselling author of \;The Poet X\ , which won the National Book Award for Young People&rsquo\;s Literature\, the Michael L. Printz Award\, the Pura Belpré\; Award\, the Carnegi e medal\, the Boston Globe&ndash\;Horn Book Award\, and the Walter Award. She is also the author of \;With the Fire on High&mdash\;whic h was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library\, NPR\, \;Publishers Weekly\, and \;School Library Journal&mdash\;and&nbs p\;Clap When You Land\, which was a Boston Globe&ndash\;Horn Book Honor book and a Kirkus finalist.
\nShe holds a BA in Performing Ar ts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing fr om the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem\, C antomundo\, and a participant in the Callaloo Writer&rsquo\;s Workshops. S he is a National Poetry Slam Champion\, and resides in Washington\, DC wit h her love.
\n\nBooks will be available for purchase during a nd after the event and the DC Public Library Foundation will offer a limited number of free copies while supplies last. \;
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