R. T. Smith
Encyclopedia
R. T. Smith is an award-winning poet
, fiction
writer, and editor
. The author of twelve poetry collections and a collection of short fiction, Smith is the editor of Shenandoah
, a prestigious literary journal published by Washington and Lee University
. His poetry and stories are identified with Southern literature
and have been published in magazines and literary journals such as The Atlantic Monthly
, Poetry
, Southern Humanities Review
, and The Kenyon Review
.
and North Carolina
. Smith received his higher education at Georgia Tech
, the University of North Carolina
, and Appalachian State University
. He now lives in Rockbridge County, Virginia
.
, where he was named an Alumni Writer-In-Residence.
At Auburn Smith co-edited Southern Humanities Review. He currently serves as editor of Shenandoah, a prestigious literary journal published by Washington and Lee University
, where he also teaches creative writing and literature courses in the English Department.
He teaches poetry and fiction in the Low-Residency MFA program in Creative Writing at Converse College www.converse.edu/mfa
and been collected in Best American Short Stories
and New Stories From the South. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Alabama Council on the Arts (he also received the Alabama Governor's Award for Achievement by an Artist). Two of his poetry collections have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
. Other awards include the Library of Virginia Poetry Prize and the Maurice English Poetry Award.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
writer, and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. The author of twelve poetry collections and a collection of short fiction, Smith is the editor of Shenandoah
Shenandoah (magazine)
Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review is a major literary magazine published by Washington and Lee University.- History :Originally a student-run quarterly, Shenandoah has evolved into a triannual literary journal edited by author R. T...
, a prestigious literary journal published by Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
. His poetry and stories are identified with Southern literature
Southern literature
Southern literature is defined as American literature about the Southern United States or by writers from this region...
and have been published in magazines and literary journals such as The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
, Poetry
Poetry (magazine)
Poetry , published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Published by the Poetry Foundation and currently edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately...
, Southern Humanities Review
Southern humanities review
The Southern Humanities Review is a quarterly literary journal published by Auburn University . The current editors are Dan Latimer and Chantel Acevedo. It publishes fiction, poetry, critical essays, and book reviews on the arts, literature, philosophy, religion, and history...
, and The Kenyon Review
The Kenyon Review
The Kenyon Review is a Literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, USA, home of Kenyon College. The Review was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959...
.
Life
Rodney T. Smith grew up in GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Smith received his higher education at Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, and Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
. He now lives in Rockbridge County, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Academic and editing career
While at Appalachian State University, Smith founded Cold Mountain Review. He also taught for nineteen years as an English professor at Auburn UniversityAuburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
, where he was named an Alumni Writer-In-Residence.
At Auburn Smith co-edited Southern Humanities Review. He currently serves as editor of Shenandoah, a prestigious literary journal published by Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
, where he also teaches creative writing and literature courses in the English Department.
He teaches poetry and fiction in the Low-Residency MFA program in Creative Writing at Converse College www.converse.edu/mfa
Awards
Smith's writings have won the Pushcart PrizePushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
and been collected in Best American Short Stories
Best American Short Stories
The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of The Best American Series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in contemporary American literature.-Edward O'Brien:The...
and New Stories From the South. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Alabama Council on the Arts (he also received the Alabama Governor's Award for Achievement by an Artist). Two of his poetry collections have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
. Other awards include the Library of Virginia Poetry Prize and the Maurice English Poetry Award.
Selected poetry collections
- Outlaw Style: Poems (Arkansas Poetry Series, 2007)
- The Hollow Log Lounge (University of Illinois Press, 2003). Winner of the 2004 Maurice English Poetry Award.
- Brightwood (Louisiana State University Press, 2003)
- Messenger (Louisiana State University Press, 2001). Winner of the Library of Virginia Poetry Prize.
- Split the Lark: Selected Poems (1999)
- Trespasser (1996). Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for PoetryPulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
. - Hunter-Gatherer (Livingston University Press, 1996)
- The Cardinal Heart (1991). Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for PoetryPulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
. - From the High Dive (1983)
Fiction
- Faith: Stories (Black Belt Press, 1995)
- Uke Rivers Delivers: Stories (Yellow Shoe Press, 2006)
- The Calaboose Epistles (Iris Press, 2009)