The Harvard Crimson recently featured a list of works from eight must-read female poets, including Tracy K. Smith's "Life on Mars." A description of the poetry collection is included below:
"A former U.S. poet laureate and current professor at Harvard University, Tracy K. Smith is known for her high-minded and cerebral poetry that juxtaposes existential musings with the mundane actions of everyday life. The larger cosmos is never far from her work, nor are surprising and subtle elements of science fiction. In her must-read poem, “Universe as Primal Scream,” Smith meditates on the unknowable in life and the mysteries that humanity has yet to solve. Smith is one of the most brilliant poets of this generation, as she tackles the existential and the uncertain with confidence."
Read more here.