William Jay Smith, a WUSTL alumnus and former poetry consultant to the Library of Congress (the position now known as poet laureate), will read from his work at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, in Olin Library’s Ginkgo Reading Room. A reception immediately will follow.
In addition, Smith will speak on “My Friend, Tom: Tennessee Williams in St. Louis” — recounting his time as a classmate of the great playwright and fellow WUSTL alumnus — at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall.
Both events are free and open to the public.
The son of a soldier and the grandson of a Choctaw Indian chief, Smith was born in 1918 in Winnfield, La., but raised primarily at Jefferson Barracks outside St. Louis. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WUSTL in 1939 and 1941 and befriended Williams during his sophomore year.
After graduation, Smith enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II, then attended Columbia University and Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
A prolific author, Smith has published more than 50 books, ranging from poetry and children’s verse to translation and literary criticism. He is working on a book about his friendship with Williams while his boyhood memoir, Army Brat (1980), is considered a modern classic.
Two of his poetry collections have been nominated for the National Book Award, and Laughing Time (1955), his first book for children, has never been out of print. His translations have won awards from the French Academy, the Swedish Academy and the Hungarian government.
Smith was poetry consultant to the Library of Congress from 1968-1970 and has been a member of The Academy of Arts and Letters since 1975.
He also served as poet-in-residence at Williams College from 1959-1967 and chaired the Writing Division of the School of Arts at Columbia University from 1973-75. Now a professor emeritus at Hollins University in Roanoke, Va., he divides his time between homes in Cummington, Mass., and Paris, France.
Many of Smith’s manuscripts and papers — including extensive correspondence with literary figures dating back to the 1940s, as well as letters from publishers, editors, scholars and friends — are held in Olin Libraries’ Department of Special Collections.
Smith’s visit is sponsored by University Libraries and the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, with additional support from the Department of English and the Center for the Humanities, both in Arts & Sciences.
For more information, call 935-5858.