The Smith Creative Writers Reading Series began on Sept. 17^th with a reading from Poet Elizabeth Hazen. Hazen read selections from her books, Chaos Theories (2016), Girls Like Us (2020), and her newest publication, The Sky Will Hold (2025).

After a beautiful introduction from Professor Emeritus George Looney, Hazen began with “Approximations”, “Risk Assessment” and “A Kind of Magic”, all poems from her newest collection, The Sky Will Hold.

She continued with “Underwear Girl” and “Thanatosis”, both selected from her first book Chaos Theories. “Underwear Girl”, a poem about a young woman running in the street in only her underwear, highlights a common theme in Hazen’s work: the idea of female identity and expectations. My favorite poems of the night came from Hazen’s second book, Girls Like Us. “Devices”, “Why I Love Zombie Woman #6” and “Monarch” all examine female identity. Hazen’s poetry makes the reader question the visibility and invisibility of her female characters. She highlights the fear of being observed as a young woman and how it transitions into erasure and invisibility as a middle-aged woman. She certainly was not invisible Thursday night.

To the young students in the Metzgar Lobby, Hazen seemed to say, ‘look at me, look at who you will become’. Her poetry exists as a reminder that we will all age and grow, and that there is comfort in that inevitability.  

Hazen’s newest project, her index of ignorance, offered students a sneak peek into the poet’s upcoming works. She ended her reading with “Driving My Son Home from The Tattoo Parlor”, a poem inspired by her own son.

To young aspiring poets, Hazen offers “read a lot and read really diversely… just keep at it if you love doing it”.

The Smith Creative Writers Reading Series will host fiction writer Molly McNett on Oct. 15^th.