Patricia Smith (born in Chicago, Illinois) is one of the most celebrated poets in contemporary America, known for her mastery of dramatic persona, her engagement with Black history, and her work as a four-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam. She received her BA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her collection Blood Dazzler (Coffee House Press, 2008), documenting the devastation of Hurricane Katrina through the voices of victims and survivors, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her collection Incendiary Art (TriQuarterly, 2017) won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. She is a professor at the College of Staten Island and in the MFA program at Sierra Nevada University.