Bruce Smith Reads Mary Ruefle

Bruce Smith Reads Mary Ruefle

From The New Yorker: Poetry by The New Yorker

September 30, 2025 · 41 min

About this episode

Bruce Smith joins Kevin Young to read poems by Mary Ruefle and himself, discussing themes of ancestry and creativity.

Bruce Smith joins Kevin Young to read “ Open Letter To My Ancestors , ” by Mary Ruefle, and his own poem “ The Game .” Smith, the author of eight poetry collections, including the forthcoming “ Hungry Ghost ,” has received awards from the Academy of American Poets and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, in addition to fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches at Syracuse University. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

People in this episode

Host: Kevin Young

Guest: Bruce Smith

Topics covered

  • poetry
  • literature
  • creative writing
  • artistic expression
  • ancestors
  • poetic forms

Keywords

  • Bruce Smith
  • Mary Ruefle
  • poetry
  • Syracuse University
  • creative writing
  • Hungry Ghost
  • Open Letter To My Ancestors
  • The Game

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Syracuse University

Books & works: Open Letter To My Ancestors, The Game, Hungry Ghost

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