Aaron Smith is an American poet. Three of his poetry collections have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. His poetry often covers "what it means to be a gay man from a rural, working class environment."[1]

Aaron Smith
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Pittsburgh
Occupation(s)Poet and academic

Education and career

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Smith received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Pittsburgh.[2] He previously taught at West Virginia Wesleyan College and currently serves as an associate professor of Creative Writing at Lesley University.[1][3] He has also been the recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Mass Cultural Council.[4][5]

Awards

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Awards for Smith's writing
Year Title Award/Honor Result Ref.
2003 What's Required Frank O'Hara Award
2004 Blue on Blue Ground Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize Winner [6]
2006 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry Finalist [7]
2013 Appetite Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry Finalist [8]
Paterson Poetry Prize Finalist [9]
Thom Gunn Award Finalist [10]
2016 Primer Poetry Must Read for the Massachusetts Center for the Book Honor [11]
2017 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry Finalist [12]
2020 The Book of Daniel Thom Gunn Award Finalist [10][13]

Publications

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Poetry collections

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  • Blue on Blue Ground, Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005)
  • Appetite (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012)
  • Primer (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016)[14][15]
  • The Book of Daniel (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019)[16][17]
  • Stop Lying (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023)[18]

Chapbooks

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  • Men in Groups: Chapbook (Winged City/New Sins Press 2011)
  • What's Required

Poems

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  • “What It Feels Like to be Aaron Smith,” in The Best American Poetry 2013 (Scribner, 2013)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Taking a risk with honest poems". Lesley University. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "Aaron Smith". Lesley University. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  3. ^ "Aaron Smith / Bio". Lit Appetite. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "Aaron Smith". Poetry Foundation. February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "Check out Aaron Smith's work on @masscultural's gallery!". Mass Cultural Council. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  6. ^ "Blue on Blue Ground". University of Pittsburgh Press. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  7. ^ Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (April 9, 2005). "18th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "25th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced!". Lambda Literary. June 4, 2013. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  9. ^ "The 2013 Paterson Poetry Prize" (PDF). The Poetry Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "The Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry". The Publishing Triangle. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "Susan Goodman wins Massachusetts Book Award". Lesley University. August 6, 2018. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  12. ^ "29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced". Lambda Literary. March 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Yohannes, Samraweet (March 23, 2020). "Samra Habib, Kai Cheng Thom and Téa Mutonji among finalists for 2020 Publishing Triangle Awards". CBC Books. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  14. ^ "Primer". Booklist. November 15, 2016. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  15. ^ "Primer by Aaron Smith". Publishers Weekly. November 7, 2016. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Book of Daniel". Booklist. October 11, 2019. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  17. ^ "The Book of Daniel by Aaron Smith". Publishers Weekly. August 14, 2019. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  18. ^ "Stop Lying by Aaron Smith". Publishers Weekly. May 12, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
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