Aaron Smith is an American poet. Three of his poetry collections have been finalists for the

Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry The Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a gay-themed book of poetry by a male writer. At the first two Lambda Literary Awards in 1989 and 1990, a single award for LGBT Po ...

. His poetry often covers "what it means to be a gay man from a rural, working class environment."

Education and career

Smith received a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. He previously taught at

West Virginia Wesleyan College West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist E ...

and currently serves as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

of Creative Writing at

Lesley University Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018-19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students (2,707 undergraduate and 3,886 graduate). History ...

. He has also been the recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Mass Cultural Council.

Awards

Publications

Poetry collections

* ''Blue on Blue Ground'', Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005) * ''Appetite'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012) * ''Primer'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016) * ''The Book of Daniel'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019) * ''Stop Lying'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023)

Chapbooks

* ''Men in Groups: Chapbook'' (Winged City/New Sins Press 2011) * ''What's Required''

Poems

* “What It Feels Like to be Aaron Smith,” in ''The Best American Poetry 2013'' (Scribner, 2013)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Aaron Living people Lesley University faculty University of Pittsburgh alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American poets American LGBT poets