Lytton Smith (born 1982) is an Anglo-American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. His most recent poetry collection is ''The All-Purpose Magical Tent'' (Nightboat Books, 2009), which was selected by

Terrance Hayes Terrance Hayes (born November 18, 1971) is an American poet and educator who has published seven poetry collections. His 2010 collection, ''Lighthead'', won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010. In 2014, he received a MacArthur Fellowship ...

for the Nightboat Books Poetry Prize in 2009, and was praised by ''Publishers Weekly'' in a starred review as "...fantastic and earthy, strange and inherited, classical and idiosyncratic, at once." He also has a previous

chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...

, ''Monster Theory'', selected by Kevin Young for the Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship in 2008. Smith's poetry has appeared in a number of prominent literary journals and magazines such as ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', ''

Bateau A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. ...

'', ''

Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

'', ''

Colorado Review The ''Colorado Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine published by the Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University. History and profile The magazine was established in 1956. It presents the annual Nelligan Prize for Short Fict ...

'', '' Denver Quarterly'', ''

Tin House ''Tin House'' is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. History Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer ...

,'' and many others. Lytton Smith was born in

Galleywood Galleywood is a village surrounded by countryside in Essex; it is situated on the outskirts of the city of Chelmsford, about 30 miles from London. The A12 trunk road passes nearby, which connects to the M25 in London. Galleywood sits astride a ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he became a founder of Blind Tiger Poetry, an organization dedicated to promoting contemporary poetry. He has taught at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

in the southwest of England, and now teaches at the

State University of New York at Geneseo The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo, New York. It is New York's public honors college and part of the State University ...

. He has also translated a number of books by Icelandic writers, including

Jón Gnarr Jón Gnarr (; born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson on 2 January 1967) is an Icelanders, Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Mayor of Reykjavík, Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a member of the Althing for ...

, Kristín Ómarsdóttir, Bragi Ólafsson, and

Guðbergur Bergsson Guðbergur Bergsson (16 October 1932 – 4 September 2023) was an Icelandic writer born in Grindavík. He attended the University of Iceland for his Teaching degree and then studied literature at the University of Barcelona. He was one of the le ...

Honors and awards

* 2009 Nightboat Poetry Prize * 2008 Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship

Bibliography

Full-Length Poetry Collections * ''The All-Purpose Magical Tent'' (Nightboat Books, 2009) Chapbooks * ''Monster Theory'' (Poetry Society of America, 2008)Poetry Society of America > Chapbook Fellowships > Recent Winners
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References

External links

Lytton Smith's BlogAudio: Lytton Smith Reading for ''From the Fishouse''
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Author Page: Amazon Book Listing

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lytton 1982 births Living people 21st-century American poets English-language poets Poets from New York (state) English emigrants to the United States Columbia University faculty Academics of the University of Plymouth Chapbook writers American male poets English male poets 21st-century American male writers