Art Hounds: Danez Smith, 'Death and the Maiden,' and St. Cloud pottery

This week Art Hounds check out a pottery show in St. Cloud, a joint production of "Death and the Maiden" and a new book of poetry by Danez Smith.

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Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria has been following Danez Smith's career since he saw him compete at a youth poetry slam years ago. Now Smith has his own book of poetry published, called "[insert] Boy" and Sanchez-Chavarria says the words on the page are just as powerful as Smith's performances on the stage. Whether he's talking about faith or sexuality, Smithss emotions run deep. You can find the book at your local independent bookstore or online from the publisher.

St. Cloud artist and teacher Sarah Drake was charmed by the current pottery exhibition in Studio C at the Paramount Visual Art Center. It's the result of a teaching residency led by resident artist Laura Ruprecht for WACOSA clients (WACOSA, based in Waite Park, offers services and job opportunities for people with cognitive, physical and mental disabilities). Drake says she was inspired by the detail and intricacy she found in the show, which runs through February 12.

Actor and director Zach Curtis has enormous respect for actors Craig Johnson, Peter Christian Hansen and Stacia Rice. So he was thrilled to get to see all three of them on stage together in "Death and the Maiden," a psychological play in which a former political prisoner is suddenly in the position of torturing her former captor ... or is he? A joint production of Gremlin and Torch theaters, "Death and the Maiden" runs through February 21.