Podcast Summary: "Tracy K. Smith's Hopes For 2026, And Yours"

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Alison Stewart
Date: January 1, 2026
Guest: Tracy K. Smith (Pulitzer Prize winner, former U.S. Poet Laureate)
Special Episode Format: Community call-in with hopes for the new year

Episode Overview

This New Year’s Day special explores personal and cultural hopes for 2026. Host Alison Stewart welcomes acclaimed poet Tracy K. Smith, who reads poetry, discusses the healing power of poetry in turbulent times, and shares her own aspirations. The episode then opens up to listener calls, capturing a mosaic of wishes, reflections, and goals for the new year from across the community. The episode is both a celebration of creative thought and a testament to collective aspiration.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Tone: Poetry as a Starting Place (00:27–13:17)

• Tracy K. Smith reads “The Crystal Gazer” by Sara Teasdale (01:43).
• Reason for Poem: Chosen for its resonance with feelings of fragmentation and the resolve to “gather myself into myself again.”
• Interpretation:
  • Tracy: “The speaker of this poem resolves to bring herself back together into a state of coherence, authority, and to claim a kind of perspective on time... it’s such a powerful wish with which to begin the year.” (02:38)
• Symbolism of the Sybil: The act of gazing as claiming agency and perspective, especially as a woman.
• Distinctive Thought: Reclaiming “poise and power that is often denied women in the collective imagination.” (04:25)

2. The Healing Power of Poetry (04:25–06:01)

• Tracy’s New Book: Fearless: Poetry in Perilous Times
  • NYT review: “Can Poetry Heal the Divided Nation?” Alison asks Tracy to make the case.
  • Tracy’s Response:
    • Poems teach us to listen earnestly and generously to others, encouraging encounters with difference and empathy (04:41).
    • Poetry invites us to “turn our attention away from ourselves, our wishes and our obligations.”
    • This practice, she believes, can translate into real-life engagement with others—something urgently needed in today’s social and political environment.

3. Personal Testimony: How Poetry Heals (06:01–07:12)

• Tracy’s Example:
  • Louise Glück’s “The Undertaking,” used during a period of grief (06:08).
  • Memorable moment: “That poem opens with the line, ‘the darkness ends. Imagine in your lifetime.’ …that a poem could invite me to do a mental exercise of imagining that sorrow and weight could lift in the foreseeable future...” (06:08)

4. On Writing and Creativity (07:12–10:23)

• Advice for Aspiring Writers in 2026:
  • Focus on “small steps”—one question, page, or line at a time (07:34).
  • Avoid getting paralyzed by the scope of a “big project.”
• On Her New Projects:
  • Working on a poetry collection, “The Forest,” to be released in 2027, and ongoing prose books.
  • Central theme: Reconciling with violence in the world; considering “counter logics” and letting “lyric imagination” guide over strictly linear logic.
• Divine Feminine vs. God of War:
  • Tracy invokes feminine figures as counter to the cultural archetype of the (male) god of war.

5. Hopes for 2026: Expanding the ‘We’ (10:23–11:39)

• Tracy’s Hope:
  • Challenge oneself to expand “us” and “we” to include people outside one’s usual tribe: “Every time I do that... I try and say, no, no, no. That’s a subset of a larger us and a larger we that is this cacophonous multitude. And it includes people that I don’t agree with and that I feel I don’t understand. And I’m trying to do the work willingly, to say, those are my people too.” (10:30)
• Ultimate Wish:
  • Each person recalibrates their sense of belonging to promote compassion, attention, and introspection.

6. Poetry Closes the Segment (11:39–13:17)

• Tracy Reads “Hymn” (Original poem):
  • Alludes to the earlier Teasdale poem, invoking the Sybil.
  • Themes of interconnection, cyclical journeys, and the nature of creation.
  • “Circle we travel from life to life. Circle of light the candle casts that is not itself the candle.” (12:46)

Call-In Reflections: Hopes and Intentions for 2026 (14:39–41:51)

Why Open the Phone Lines on New Year’s Day? (14:40)

• Producer Kate Hines: It’s a moment when people “are thinking and taking stock,” plus the inauguration of a new mayor provides a civic backdrop.

Listener Highlights

Listening as Poetry (Peter from Tampa, 17:48)

• Wishes to listen as intently in daily conversation as when hearing poetry:
  • “Why don’t I do that? As if that person talking to me in regular conversation has that much intent… I think it would be a good habit that we don’t be sloppy with our speech, but think of it all as poetic.” (17:48)

Sharing and Creativity (Claire from Brooklyn, 18:58)

• Key Word: Sharing
  • More personal sharing, more curiosity about others’ projects and dreams, “because I want to see everybody shine. And I want to shine, too.” (18:58)
  • Claire is making an email newsletter to connect with friends and spread creative energy.

Environmental and Artistic Activism (Claire from Hartsdale, 20:19)

• Book-to-Film Dream: Her poetic prose work focusing on climate change will be filmed in Costa Rica.
• Emphasizes environmental advocacy and the artistic shaping of social messages.

Preservation and Civic Engagement (George, 21:45)

• Cultural hope: Advocates for historic preservation in NYC, worrying about “affordability” overtaking legacy and preservation concerns.

Solidarity and Public Service (Bob from Brooklyn, 25:22)

• “I hope we will find many, many ways to be in solidarity with the poor and downtrodden, underfed, under housed, unhoused of New York City and the rest of the world.” (25:22)
• Advocates for better role models in leadership.

Reconnecting with Family Across Differences (Joseph from Nolita, 26:16)

• Story: Reached out to a sister after four years of estrangement due to political differences.
• 2026 goal: “Just be kind and have conversations and not get upset.” (26:16)

Childlike Wonder (Mary Grace, 26:59)

• Working with children has inspired her to “return to my childlike wonder,” slow down, and feel more connected.
• Desires to create or work in children’s media.

Education and Moral Character (Linda from Brooklyn, 30:16)

• Wants a shift in public education towards “awareness, self-awareness, belonging, care, compassion, generosity, forgiveness and gratitude” (30:16).

Repairing Parental Relationships (Paul from Brooklyn, 31:13)

• Hopes to reconnect and improve his relationship with his daughter.

Environmental Advocacy and Consumerism (Raul from East Elmhurst, 32:22)

• Wishes more New Yorkers will focus on environmental stewardship: “You don’t have to buy all that. Just recycle, reuse.” (32:22)

Building Self-Esteem, Overcoming Comparison (Susan from Summit, 33:40)

• Goal: Stop comparing herself to others, develop self-acceptance.

Youthful Ambition (Sadie, 35:04)

• 11-year-old caller: Wants to attend art camp, start an Etsy, “and yeah, get money for it.”

Staff and In-Studio Reflections

• Team Resolutions: Hobbies (knitting, sewing, piano), travel, exercising, reading major biographies, and creative projects abound.
• Broadway Wishes: Hopes for original musicals, return of body positivity, another big summer movie moment like “Barbenheimer.”
• Book Anticipations: Upcoming works by Ann Patchett, George Saunders, Tayari Jones, and Emily St. John Mandel.
• Third Space Advocacy:
  • “We need to be in community with each other. We are living in isolation… and experiencing things together in so many ways is more powerful than experiencing them alone.” (40:24)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Tracy K. Smith on poetry’s power:
  • “My notion is that if we become willing to [listen] more and more with the speaker of a poem on a page, it rubs off on the ways that we deal with other humans in real time. And I think that’s something that we very much need right now.” (05:16)
• On New Year’s aspiration:
  • “Let’s slow down. Let’s come back to the fullness of our true selves and be patient and courageous and generous with ourselves and one another.” (02:57)
• Listener Peter (Tampa):
  • “I think it would be a good habit that we don’t be sloppy with our speech, but think of it all as poetic.” (18:44)
• Listener Joseph reconciling with his sister:
  • “My hopes for this year is to just be kind and have conversations and not get upset about it all.” (26:18)
• Producer Kate Hines on third spaces:
  • “We need to be in community together… experiencing things together in so many ways is more powerful than experiencing them alone.” (40:24)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening—Setting the agenda for 2026 & introducing Tracy K. Smith: 00:27
• Reading of “The Crystal Gazer” & interpretation: 01:43–04:25
• Poetry as a tool for healing & empathy: 04:25–06:01
• Personal story on poetry’s impact: 06:01–07:12
• Advice for aspiring writers: 07:12–08:14
• New projects and poetic themes: 08:14–10:23
• Hopes for expanding communal “we”: 10:23–11:39
• Original poem “Hymn”: 11:42–13:05
• Community goals/Listener call-ins: 14:39–41:51
• Notable individual goals and staff reflections: 23:43, 29:10, 33:40

Tone and Style

The episode is reflective, earnest, at times intimate, and often uplifting—balancing the contemplative energy of poetry with the diverse, sometimes quirky aspirations of New Yorkers and listeners.

For New Listeners

This special episode encapsulates the values of "All Of It": thoughtful engagement with culture and community, the power of creative expression, and the beauty in shared hopes and honest vulnerability. It’s a snapshot of the city’s collective mood on a landmark day—welcoming a new year, a new administration, and a renewed sense of connection.