Clint Smith Celebrates Complexities of Parenthood in ‘Above Ground’

“I experience your wounds as if they were my own,” reads the last line of Clint Smith’s poem “Nociception.” Directed to a child, it explains that just as a sea creature that loses an appendage feels discomfort across its entire body, so does a parent whose child is in pain. The poem is part of Smith’s new collection “Above Ground,” which also celebrates the joy, wonder and even occasional absurdity of being a parent. We talk to Smith about his poetry and what he calls the “simultaneity of the human experience:” our capacity to hold fear and anxiety alongside joy and awe.

Guests:

Clint Smith, poet and staff writer, The Atlantic - His new collection of poetry is "Above Ground." His previous books include "How the Word is Passed."

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