The Design Of Business | The Business of Design

S11E8: Poetry is Anti Capitalist with Tracy K. Smith


Listen Later

Tracy K. Smith is a Pulitzer prize winning poet, professor and librettist who served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2017-2019. She’s published five poetry collections, two librettos and one memoir-manifesto. She is also a Professor of English and African and African American Studies at Harvard. Her most recent Libretto for the opera The Righteous is currently running at the Santa Fe Opera house through August 13th.

Pulsing through Tracy’s long list of accomplishments is her belief that language, and specifically poetry, is a pathway to the fullest versions of ourselves- selves that today’s world often doesn’t allow us to be.

In this episode of DB|BD, hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt sit down with Tracy to talk through the writing process of two of her most recent works: the libretto for The Righteous and her 2024 memoir-manifesto To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul. Tracy also candidly engages in conversation about how she finds faith when you otherwise feel empty, how she uses history to inform her analysis of the current moment and how her employer and alma mater, Harvard, can emerge from this period of institutional struggle.

And stick around to the end of the episode to hear Tracy read one of her poems live on air!

On this season of DB|BD, co-hosts Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt are observing equity by highlighting the “redesigners” — people who are addressing urgent problems by challenging big assumptions about how the world can and should work — and who it should work for. 

This season of DB|BD is powered by Deloitte. 

Visit our site for more on this episode and to view a transcript.

Tracy K. Smith’s website.

Full text of “An Old Story”.

More on Nada Hafez Fencing While Pregnant

Allyson Felix on Setting Up the First Olympic Nursery

Ilona Maher on TikTok

Follow The Design of Business | The Business of Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app

Episodes are produced by Design Observer’s editorial team. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Deloitte or its personnel, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes.


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Design Of Business | The Business of DesignBy Design Observer

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

107 ratings


More shows like The Design Of Business | The Business of Design

View all
99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,180 Listeners

NPR News Now by NPR

NPR News Now

14,354 Listeners

Design Matters with Debbie Millman by Design Matters Media

Design Matters with Debbie Millman

1,229 Listeners

Monocle on Design by Monocle

Monocle on Design

73 Listeners

The Urbanist by Monocle

The Urbanist

286 Listeners

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters by American Public Media

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

3,061 Listeners

Uncanny Valley | WIRED by WIRED

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

477 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,362 Listeners

Creative Confidence Podcast by IDEO U

Creative Confidence Podcast

128 Listeners

Design Better by The Curiosity Department, sponsored by Wix Studio

Design Better

322 Listeners

Today, Explained by Vox

Today, Explained

10,233 Listeners

Time Sensitive by The Slowdown

Time Sensitive

154 Listeners

NN/g UX Podcast by Nielsen Norman Group

NN/g UX Podcast

107 Listeners

The Futures Archive by Design Observer

The Futures Archive

12 Listeners

The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott by Audacy, Red Hour, Great Scott

The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott

2,324 Listeners

What We Spend by Audacy

What We Spend

649 Listeners