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{{Short description|American nonficiton writer (born 1980)}}
{{Short description|American nonficiton writer (born 1980)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Sarah Smarsh
| name = Sarah Smarsh
| image = Sarah Smarsh 2018.jpg
| image = Sarah Smarsh 2018.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Smarsh in 2018
| caption = Smarsh in 2018
⚫
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|8|8}}
| pseudonym =
| birth_place = [[Kingman, Kansas]], U.S.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hoedel|first=Cindy |title=IN Conversation with Sarah Smarsh |date=September 1, 2019|newspaper=IN Kansas City Magazine|url=https://www.inkansascity.com/innovators-influencers/people/in-conversation-with-sarah-smarsh/ |access-date=August 27, 2023}}</ref>
⚫
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1980}}
| birth_place = [[Kansas]], U.S.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Catte |first=Elizabeth |title=One woman's story of poverty and hard work in America's fly-over country |work=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/one-womans-story-of-poverty-and-hard-work-in-americas-fly-over-country/2018/10/04/e2909e2e-a571-11e8-97ce-cc9042272f07_story.html |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref>
| occupation = Writer
| occupation = Writer
| period =
| genre = [[Nonfiction]]
| genre = [[Nonfiction]]
| education = [[University of Kansas]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Columbia University]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])
| subject =
| movement =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| relatives =
| signature =
}}
}}
'''Sarah Smarsh''' (born 1980) is an American journalist and nonfiction writer.
'''Sarah Smarsh''' (born 8 August 1980) is an American journalist and nonfiction writer.


== Background ==
== Background ==
Smarsh was born in rural [[Kansas]] and grew up on farms and in small towns. Her family moved frequently, and she attended eight schools before she reached ninth grade.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Smarsh |first=Sarah |title=The working-class kid who became a writer: how a Kansas teacher helped change my life |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/06/teachers-red-states-kansas-memoir-sarah-smarsh |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref> She attended the [[University of Kansas]] starting in 1998, and received received her MFA in nonfiction writing from [[Columbia University]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Keranen |first=Rachel |title=Review: Heartland by Sarah Smarsh |work=[[Columbia Journal]] |url=http://columbiajournal.org/review-heartland-by-sarah-smarsh/ |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bierman |first=Courtney |title=Q&A with KU alumna author, journalist Sarah Smarsh |work=[[The University Daily Kansan]] |url=http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/q-a-with-ku-alumna-author-journalist-sarah-smarsh/article_63eb8c8c-bd27-11e8-8d22-ab60f597b22c.html |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref>
Smarsh was born in rural [[Kansas]] and grew up on farms and in small towns. Her family moved frequently, and she attended eight schools before she reached ninth grade.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Smarsh |first=Sarah |title=The working-class kid who became a writer: how a Kansas teacher helped change my life |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/06/teachers-red-states-kansas-memoir-sarah-smarsh |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref> As a first generation college student,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-07 |title=Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Smarsh '05 |url=https://arts.columbia.edu/news/alumni-spotlight-sarah-smarsh-05 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Columbia University School of the Arts}}</ref> she attended the [[University of Kansas]] starting in 1998, and received her MFA in nonfiction writing from [[Columbia University]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Keranen |first=Rachel |title=Review: Heartland by Sarah Smarsh |work=[[Columbia Journal]] |url=http://columbiajournal.org/review-heartland-by-sarah-smarsh/ |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bierman |first=Courtney |title=Q&A with KU alumna author, journalist Sarah Smarsh |work=[[The University Daily Kansan]] |url=http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/q-a-with-ku-alumna-author-journalist-sarah-smarsh/article_63eb8c8c-bd27-11e8-8d22-ab60f597b22c.html |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref>


While in fifth grade, Smarsh wrote a story about her family for a class assignment. Her teacher at the time sent the story to a national children's magazine, where it was then published. After the story was published, Smarsh told her family that she would one day publish a full book about them.<ref name=":0" />
While in fifth grade, Smarsh wrote a story about her family for a class assignment. Her teacher at the time sent the story to a national children's magazine, where it was then published. After the story was published, Smarsh told her family that she would one day publish a full book about them.<ref name=":0" />
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* {{cite web |title=Sarah Smarsh |url=https://www.cjr.org/author/sarah-smarsh |work=[[Columbia Journalism Review]] |accessdate=October 27, 2019}}
* {{cite web |title=Sarah Smarsh |url=https://www.cjr.org/author/sarah-smarsh |work=[[Columbia Journalism Review]] |accessdate=October 27, 2019}}
* {{cite web |title=Sarah Smarsh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sarah-smarsh |website=[[The Guardian]] |accessdate=October 24, 2020}}
* {{cite web |title=Sarah Smarsh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sarah-smarsh |website=[[The Guardian]] |accessdate=October 24, 2020}}
* {{cite web |title=Contributors – Sarah Smarsh |url=https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/sarah-smarsh |work=[[The New Yorker]] |accessdate=October 24, 2020}}
* {{cite magazine |title=Contributors – Sarah Smarsh |url=https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/sarah-smarsh |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |accessdate=October 24, 2020}}
</ref>
</ref>


== Published works ==
== Published works ==
Published in 2018, ''[[Heartland (nonfiction book)|Heartland]]'' is an autobiographical work which focuses on the lives of her family members, white blue-collar residents of the Midwestern and Southern USA; the book was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dawson |first=Mackenzie |title=How 'Heartland' author Sarah Smarsh became a hero in rural America |work=[[New York Post]] |url=https://nypost.com/2019/11/09/how-heartland-author-sarah-smarsh-became-a-hero-in-rural-america/ |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref> ''She Come By It Natural'' (2020) is a collection of essays about [[Dolly Parton]], provoked by stereotyped coverage of rural people in the context of the 2016 election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Garcia-Navarro |first=Lulu |title=Author Sarah Smarsh Discusses Her New Book On 'The Great Unifier:' Dolly Parton |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/18/925069851/author-sarah-smarsh-discusses-her-new-book-on-the-great-unifier-dolly-parton |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Choate |first=Emily |title=She Come by It Natural Pays Unique Tribute to Dolly Parton |work=[[Nashville Scene]] |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts-culture/books/article/21144055/she-come-by-it-natural-pays-unique-tribute-to-dolly-parton |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dundas |first=Deborah |title=In 'She Come By It Natural,' an homage to Dolly Parton and how her music speaks to women |publisher=[[Toronto Star]] |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2020/10/15/in-she-come-by-it-natural-an-homage-to-dolly-parton-and-how-her-music-speaks-to-women.html |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Berry |first=Lorraine |title=Review: How Dolly Parton became an unsung icon of the feminist working class |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-10-14/dolly-parton-biography-sarah-smarsh-review |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref> The book was a finalist for the nonfiction category of the National Books Critics Circle Award. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-25 |title=Announcing the Finalists for the 2020 NBCC Awards |url=https://www.bookcritics.org/2021/01/24/announcing-the-finalists-for-the-2020-nbcc-awards/ |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=National Book Critics Circle |language=en-US}}</ref>
Published in 2018, ''[[Heartland (nonfiction book)|Heartland]]'' is an autobiographical work which focuses on the lives of her family members, white blue-collar residents of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] and [[Southern United States]]; the book was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dawson |first=Mackenzie |title=How 'Heartland' author Sarah Smarsh became a hero in rural America |work=[[New York Post]] |url=https://nypost.com/2019/11/09/how-heartland-author-sarah-smarsh-became-a-hero-in-rural-america/ |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref> and a 2019 recipient of the Kansas Notable Book Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 Notable Books {{!}} Kansas State Library, KS - Official Website |url=https://kslib.info/1361/2019-Notable-Books |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=kslib.info}}</ref> ''She Come By It Natural'' (2020) is a collection of essays about [[Dolly Parton]], provoked by stereotyped coverage of rural people in the context of the 2016 election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Garcia-Navarro |first=Lulu |title=Author Sarah Smarsh Discusses Her New Book On 'The Great Unifier:' Dolly Parton |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/18/925069851/author-sarah-smarsh-discusses-her-new-book-on-the-great-unifier-dolly-parton |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Choate |first=Emily |title=She Come by It Natural Pays Unique Tribute to Dolly Parton |work=[[Nashville Scene]] |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts-culture/books/article/21144055/she-come-by-it-natural-pays-unique-tribute-to-dolly-parton |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dundas |first=Deborah |title=In 'She Come By It Natural,' an homage to Dolly Parton and how her music speaks to women |publisher=[[Toronto Star]] |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2020/10/15/in-she-come-by-it-natural-an-homage-to-dolly-parton-and-how-her-music-speaks-to-women.html |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Berry |date=October 14, 2020 |first=Lorraine |title=Review: How Dolly Parton became an unsung icon of the feminist working class |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-10-14/dolly-parton-biography-sarah-smarsh-review |access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref> The book was a finalist for the nonfiction category of the National Books Critics Circle Award.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-25 |title=Announcing the Finalists for the 2020 NBCC Awards |url=https://www.bookcritics.org/2021/01/24/announcing-the-finalists-for-the-2020-nbcc-awards/ |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=National Book Critics Circle |language=en-US}}</ref>

* ''Bone of the Bone'', 2024.

== Other works ==
In 2019, Smarsh started the podcast ''The Homecomers.'' The podcast spotlights and interviews people from rural and working class communities, similar to the ones that Smarsh herself grew up in, in order to dispel stereotypes about themselves and the places where they live.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Development |first=MESH Design & |title=RELEASE: Journalist and NYT Bestselling Author Sarah Smarsh to Release Original Podcast |url=https://www.thehomecomers.org/the-homecomers-press-release/ |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=The Homecomers |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-30 |title='The Homecomers': Writer Sarah Smarsh's New Podcast Explores Trend Of Rural Americans Returning Home |url=https://www.wvpublic.org/news/2019-09-30/the-homecomers-writer-sarah-smarshs-new-podcast-explores-trend-of-rural-americans-returning-home |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=WVPB |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaw |first=Iain |date=2019-10-07 |title=The Homecomers Corrects the Narrative on Rural America |url=https://podcastreview.org/review/the-homecomers/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=Podcast Review |language=en-US}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:University of Kansas alumni]]
[[Category:University of Kansas alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni]]
[[Category:American essayists]]
[[Category:21st-century American essayists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women journalists]]
[[Category:American women essayists]]
[[Category:American women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Journalists from Kansas]]
[[Category:Writers from Kansas]]
[[Category:People from Kingman, Kansas]]

Latest revision as of 15:21, 27 October 2024

Sarah Smarsh
Smarsh in 2018
Smarsh in 2018
Born (1980-08-08) August 8, 1980 (age 44)
Kingman, Kansas, U.S.[1]
OccupationWriter
EducationUniversity of Kansas (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
GenreNonfiction

Sarah Smarsh (born 8 August 1980) is an American journalist and nonfiction writer.

Background

[edit]

Smarsh was born in rural Kansas and grew up on farms and in small towns. Her family moved frequently, and she attended eight schools before she reached ninth grade.[2] As a first generation college student,[3] she attended the University of Kansas starting in 1998, and received her MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University.[4][5]

While in fifth grade, Smarsh wrote a story about her family for a class assignment. Her teacher at the time sent the story to a national children's magazine, where it was then published. After the story was published, Smarsh told her family that she would one day publish a full book about them.[2]

She has been a fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.[6] She has written for publications including the Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, The Guardian, and The New Yorker.[7]

Published works

[edit]

Published in 2018, Heartland is an autobiographical work which focuses on the lives of her family members, white blue-collar residents of the Midwestern and Southern United States; the book was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize[8] and a 2019 recipient of the Kansas Notable Book Award.[9] She Come By It Natural (2020) is a collection of essays about Dolly Parton, provoked by stereotyped coverage of rural people in the context of the 2016 election.[10][11][12][13] The book was a finalist for the nonfiction category of the National Books Critics Circle Award.[14]

  • Bone of the Bone, 2024.

Other works

[edit]

In 2019, Smarsh started the podcast The Homecomers. The podcast spotlights and interviews people from rural and working class communities, similar to the ones that Smarsh herself grew up in, in order to dispel stereotypes about themselves and the places where they live.[15][16][17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hoedel, Cindy (September 1, 2019). "IN Conversation with Sarah Smarsh". IN Kansas City Magazine. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Smarsh, Sarah. "The working-class kid who became a writer: how a Kansas teacher helped change my life". The Guardian. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Smarsh '05". Columbia University School of the Arts. March 7, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  4. ^ Keranen, Rachel. "Review: Heartland by Sarah Smarsh". Columbia Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  5. ^ Bierman, Courtney. "Q&A with KU alumna author, journalist Sarah Smarsh". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  6. ^ "About Sarah Smarsh, Journalist and Author of Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth". Sarah Smarsh. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Sarah Smarsh author pages:
  8. ^ Dawson, Mackenzie. "How 'Heartland' author Sarah Smarsh became a hero in rural America". New York Post. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "2019 Notable Books | Kansas State Library, KS - Official Website". kslib.info. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  10. ^ Garcia-Navarro, Lulu. "Author Sarah Smarsh Discusses Her New Book On 'The Great Unifier:' Dolly Parton". NPR. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  11. ^ Choate, Emily. "She Come by It Natural Pays Unique Tribute to Dolly Parton". Nashville Scene. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Dundas, Deborah. "In 'She Come By It Natural,' an homage to Dolly Parton and how her music speaks to women". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Berry, Lorraine (October 14, 2020). "Review: How Dolly Parton became an unsung icon of the feminist working class". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  14. ^ "Announcing the Finalists for the 2020 NBCC Awards". National Book Critics Circle. January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  15. ^ Development, MESH Design &. "RELEASE: Journalist and NYT Bestselling Author Sarah Smarsh to Release Original Podcast". The Homecomers. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  16. ^ "'The Homecomers': Writer Sarah Smarsh's New Podcast Explores Trend Of Rural Americans Returning Home". WVPB. September 30, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  17. ^ Shaw, Iain (October 7, 2019). "The Homecomers Corrects the Narrative on Rural America". Podcast Review. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
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