Last year, during her visit to read in the Poetry@Tech series, I got to speak with poet Patricia Smith. Due to some technical issues, we had to delay posting until now. It was a very fun and fascinating conversation. We talked about multi-modality, teaching, code-switching, and performance; the ridiculousness of the chasm between “spoken word” (she dislikes that term) and “academic” poets; building community between different kinds of poetry; and the importance of continuing to add tools to your writing toolbox. Enjoy!
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About Rebecca Weaver
Rebecca Weaver, _TechStyle_ chief editor for school year 2014-15, received her PhD from the University of Minnesota and an MFA from Hamline University. Her research is on discourses within poetry communities and institutions, especially in moments of conflict. Her teaching specialties are American Literature 1850-present (with a focus on poetry Contemporary American Poetry and Poetics and American Poetry 1850-present), Creative Writing, Service Learning, and Literature for Non-majors. Her composition / communication courses tend to focus on discourses of higher education and community. Her manuscript about the discourses and conflicts of poetry communities in the 1970s is under review. She is also working on two poetry chapbooks.
