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Cover of “To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul” by Tracy K. Smith. (Courtesy Knopf)
Cover of “To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul” by Tracy K. Smith. (Courtesy Knopf)

A Liberating, Time-Traveling Journey Through Family, History, and Memory

Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Tracy K. Smith’s powerful new memoir uses her life and family to examine the deepest of American wounds.
By Chanice Hughes-Greenberg
December 1, 2023
7 minute read
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Family. Memory. Legacy. These words, these themes, build upon each other. Within our families there are shared moments, sometimes of joy, sometimes of pain, that help write our stories. These stories, passed down as lore, or as photographs, become memories. And with time, as memories stretch and years pass, legacy is created. In her latest book, To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul (Knopf), the former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith examines the deepest of American wounds through her own family. This searing memoir travels through time, relationships, and Smith’s own life to illuminate the lasting legacy of racism in our country.

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