Smith, Thomas R., 1948-

Thomas R. Smith was born on January 16, 1948, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

He is an American poet, essayist, teacher, and editor. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals in the U.S. and internationally. His poems have been featured on The Writer's Almanac, a syndicated national public radio program and podcast hosted by Garrison Keillor. His work was also selected for The Best American Poetry 1999, edited by poet Robert Bly, and in former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's syndicated newspaper column, American Life in Poetry. Smith has described his own work as drawing from the nature and landscape of his home in Wisconsin. He published several books of poems, e.g., "Keeping the Star" (1988), "The Dark Indigo Current" (2000) and "Waking Before Dawn" (2006). He also edited various books, including three on the subject of fellow poet Robert Bly. His poetry criticism has been published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Great River Review, Ruminator Review, and other periodicals. He lives in River Falls, Wisconsin, with his wife Krista Spieler. He teaches poetry at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.