September 30th, 2025 — Happy Publication Day to Patricia Smith’s (CRF 2017) The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems (Scribner)! Patricia’s latest book of poetry, a finalist for 2025 National Book Award for Poetry, gathers, for the first time, “the finest new and selected poems from one of the most groundbreaking voices in contemporary poetry” (Poetry Foundation). Smith’s poems, “a rapturous ode to life,” “traverse the redeeming landscape of pain, confront the frightening revelations of history, and disclose the joyous possibilities of the future. The result is a profound testament to the necessity of poetry—all the careful witness, embodied experience, and bristling pleasure that it bestows—and of Smith’s necessary voice” (Simon & Schuster).
“Patricia Smith is the greatest living poet. Every book is better than the last.” —Danez Smith, The Guardian
Patricia will be making appearances across the country in support of the release. See a complete schedule and get your copy of the book here. The 76th National Book Awards Ceremony will take place on November 19th in New York City, livestreamed for readers everywhere here.