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When Tracy K. Smith was named U.S. Poet Laureate in 2017, the country was in a fragile place. 

In her new book, Smith writes that, by then, “we’d come to find ourselves in a climate of language — I’d call it a national vocabulary — grounded in fear, derision, and the notion of an intractably divided nation.”

But Smith believes that poetry rises above the grim jargon. In “

,” she describes poetry as a vehicle equipped to transport us beyond facts and figures to places where we may not even know we want or need to go. 

Smith joins Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to explore how poetry is uniquely positioned to transform our understanding of each other. Along the way, they trade favorite poems, talk about why it’s crucial that poetry be read out loud and discuss ways to make poetry more approachable — especially for those who only learned to diagram it in school.  

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Are you convinced poetry is some code you just can’t crack? In her new book, “Fear Less,” former Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith says poems are like cars: they’re meant to take you somewhere. 

Tracy K. Smith prescribes poetry as a balm to our wounds in 'Fear Less'

Side-by-side image. On the left, an author photo of a woman in a black shirt in a dark room. On the right, a blue and orange book cover for "Fear Less."

Tracy K. Smith prescribes poetry as a balm to our wounds in 'Fear Less'

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