An Afternoon of Poetry with Katherine Smith

Union Ave Books is proud to bring you an afternoon of poetry with Katherine Smith, author of SECRET CITY. This event will be taking place in our store on September 4, 2022 at 2:00 pm.

Katherine Smith’s recent poetry publications include appearances in Boulevard, North American Review, Ploughshares, Mezzo Cammin, Cincinnati Review, Missouri Review, Southern Review, and many other journals. Her short fiction has appeared in Fiction International and Gargoyle. Her first book Argument by Design (Washington Writers’ Publishing House) appeared in 2003. Her second book of poems Woman Alone on the Mountain (Iris Press), appeared in 2014. Her third book, Secret City, will appear with Madville Press in August 2022. She works at Montgomery College in Maryland and is the Poetry Editor of the Potomac Review.

Secret City: Poems by Katherine Smith explores belonging and power through the eyes of children and adults, whether the relationships in question are to a family, to a religion, to a region or to a country. The imagery of the natural world weaves in and out of the dreams of a young Jewish girl brought to live with a Christian family in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II. A woman with a childhood of being bullied moves north only to find herself an authority figure, teaching students who are themselves outsiders marked for deportation. In the midst of confusion and ideology, where victim and perpetrator ceaselessly exchange roles, the voices in these poems search for a ground of belonging in the natural world, in serving others, and in the intimately textured language of poetry.

Please note: spots are limited.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Union Ave Books, 517 Union Avenue, Knoxville, United States