S4 Ep. 9: Making Good: Tracy K. Smith and Kawai Strong Washburn On Biden's Debts to His Base (Especially Black Women)

fiction/non/fiction

In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and novelist Kawai Strong Washburn, who talk about what the Biden administration owes the BIPOC and women voters who got them elected. First, Smith discusses building bridges as a nation, and shares excerpts of her award-winning collection, Wade in the Water. Then, Hawaii-born Washburn talks about the power of community organizing, and reads from his acclaimed debut, Sharks in the Time of Saviors.

To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Tracy K. Smith

• The Cancer Journals
• Life On Mars: Poems
• Wade In The Water: Poems
• American Journal: Fifty Poems For Our Time
• Ordinary Light: A Memoir
• Duende: Poems
• “Poet Tracy K. Smith Pays Tribute to Kamala Harris,” Vogue

Kawai Strong Washburn

• Sharks in the Time of Saviors
• “What the Ocean Eats,” McSweeney’s

Others:

• “Biden's First 100 Days: Here's What To Expect” by Elena Moore, NPR
• America Amplified: Election 2020, a six-episode national talk show from the CPB public media initiative America Amplified
• “Portraits of Reconciliation: 20 years after the genocide in Rwanda, reconciliation still happens one encounter at a time,” by Pieter Hugo and Susan Dominus, New York Times
• “Kama'āina: Kawai Strong Washburn Interviewed by Kathryn Savage,” BOMB Magazine
• Malcolm X Biography
• Senator Ted Cruz on Twitter: "By rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, President Biden indicates he's more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh. This agreement will do little to affect the climate and will harm the livelihoods of Americans."
• “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich, The New York Times Sunday Magazine

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