US poet laureate starts rural reading tour in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. poet laureate has embarked on a series of trips to bring her poetry to rural pockets of the country, with stops in Native American communities and other places she says her work hasn't taken her in the past.

In an interview, Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy K. Smith said Friday that she has grown curious about how conversations about poetry have evolved in wide swaths of the United States beyond the reach of book festivals. She is launching the tour — which began this week in New Mexico and will take her to the rural South in the coming months — because she also wants to show how poetry can help people see the world from other perspectives.