Literary Thunder: Welcoming Patricia Smith to the Loft with Arleta Little

In this episode, we are joined by the Loft's Executive and Artistic Director Arleta Little. Arleta is also an author and poet, and we celebrate Patricia Smith's upcoming Nov 7 visit to the Loft.    Arleta reflects on her own creative practice and collaborative poetry collection, Black Swallowtail, tracing how early promises and personal evolution shape a poet's voice. The conversation turns to Patricia Smith's legendary career—from her origins in Chicago's slam poetry scene as a four-time national champion to her mastery of persona poems, narrative craft, and the musicality of spoken word. Arleta also offers details on leading a virtual book club around Smith’s collection The Intentions of Thunder and closes the episode with a live reading of Smith’s powerful poem "When the burning begins."    Additionally, the episode shares a throwback clip from the Short Story Summit featuring authors Julie Schumacher and Megan Giddings discussing burnout and sustaining creative energy. Show Notes & Links HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS Patricia Smith Live: Reading & Conversation in Support of the Loft (Nov 7): https://loft.org/events/patricia-smith-live-reading-conversation-support-loft Patricia Smith Book Club (Oct 28): https://loft-lit.circle.so/c/sessions/patricia-smith-book-club BOOKS TO PURCHASE The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Intentions-of-Thunder/Patricia-Smith/9781668055731 July Sun by Aamina Ahmad: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/783240/july-sun-by-aamina-ahmad/ Black Arts by Megan Giddings: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/black-arts-megan-giddings?variant=44717895221282 Patient Female by Julie Schumacher: https://julieschumacher.com/writing/novels/patient-female/ Black Swallowtail by Arleta Little and Ta-coumba T. Aiken: https://duluthart.org/shop/black-swallowtail-by-ta-coumba-t-aiken-and-arleta-little/ POEM When the Burning Begins by Patricia Smith: https://poets.org/poem/when-burning-begins Send us a voice note about the podcast Support the Loft Support Our Community: Become a Friend of the Loft: https://loft.org/join-support Join the Loft's free Digital Community, the Loft Writing Network: https://loft-lit.circle.so/Loft-Writing-Network