Poet Danez Smith To Speak At Clark College On November 13 (Photo) - 11/04/25
Pulitzer Prize finalist Danez Smith opens 2025-26 Columbia Writers Series
VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Clark College Columbia Writers Series will begin its 2025-26 season with poet Danez Smith, author of Don’t Call Us Dead, Homie, and most recently, Bluff, which was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize. This event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 13 in Gaiser Hall 213 on Clark College’s main campus, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver.
Smith’s work explores themes of race, identity, mortality, and social justice through unconventional forms of poetry that blend lyrical intensity with influences from slam and spoken word. They are also the curator of Blues in Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes.
Their accolades include the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Smith has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation, and has been featured by The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Best American Poetry, PBS NewsHour, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Smith earned their Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Michigan and currently teaches at the Randolph College MFA program and the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul. They live in Minneapolis.
Event details
Time: Thursday, November 13, 11 a.m. – noon
Location: Gaiser Hall 213, Clark College main campus, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, WA 98683
Parking: Green or Red lots—view online map and directions here.
Accommodations: If you need an accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, please contact: Clark College’s Human Resources Office. Phone: 360-992-2105 or email: hr@clark.edu
Clark College expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, perceived or actual physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran or military status, citizenship, immigration status, or use of a trained guide dog or service animal in its programs and activities. Learn more at www.clark.edu/nds.
Upcoming Columbia Writers Series Events
- Joe Sacco, comic author, February 5, 2026, 11 a.m.
Eisner Award-winner Joe Sacco is the author of Footnotes in Gaza, for which he received the Ridenhour Book Prize, as well as Paying the Land, Palestine Journalism, Safe Area Goražde, and other books. His comics reporting has appeared in The New York Time Magazine, The Guardian, and Harper’s Magazine.
- Emma Pattee, climate journalist and fiction writer, May 12, 2026, 10 a.m.
Emma Pattee has written about climate change for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and other publications. Her debut novel, Tilt, is a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, a USA Today Bestseller, a Best Book of 2025 for Vogue, and an NPR favorite fiction read of 2025.
- Camille Dungy, author and poet, May 14, 2026, 1 p.m.
Camille Dungy is the author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, which was named book of the month by Hudsons Booksellers, received the 2024 Award of Excellence in Garden and Nature Writing from The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, and was on the short list for the PEN/Jean Stein Award. Dungy has also written four collections of poetry and the essay collection, Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History.
About Clark’s Columbia Writers Series
The Columbia Writers Series aims to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of Clark College by providing a platform for literature and the arts. Since 1988, the series has brought a diverse array of local, national, and international authors to the campus and the community. Learn more about the Columbia Writers Series.
About Clark College
Founded in 1933, Clark College is Southwest Washington’s largest public institution of higher education. Clark College provides residents of Southwest Washington with affordable, high-quality academic and technical education. This public community college offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs, including bachelor’s and associate degrees; professional certificates; high school diplomas and GED preparation; and non-credit community and continuing education. Clark serves over 8,500 students including high school students, veterans, displaced workers, multilingual and mature learners. About three-quarters of its students are the first in their families to attend college.
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