“R.T. Smith was a member of a stable of young writers at Appalachian who thrived under the whimsical mentorship of John Foster West in the 1970s. He has gone on to a distinguished career as an award-winning poet and fiction writer, editor of important literary reviews, teacher and writer-in-residence and encourager of writers. But he has always maintained gracious loyalty to his writer friends and old teachers at Appalachian.”

Professor Emeritus Thomas McGowan

Rod “R.T.” Smith is the recipient of the 2016-17 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award. Smith graduated from Appalachian State University in 1975 with an M.A. in English and has since published 15 collections of poetry, six volumes of short fiction and three literary anthologies.

He is the former editor of the Southern Humanities Review, as well as former alumni writer-in-residence at Auburn University. Smith is currently the writer-in-residence at Washington and Lee University and has edited Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review since 1995, receiving a 2008 Virginia Governor’s Arts Award for publishing excellence.

Smith’s new poetry collection, “Summoning Shades,” will appear next year from Mercer University Press.

About the Department of English

The Department of English at Appalachian State University is committed to outstanding work in the classroom, the support and mentorship of students, and a dynamic engagement with culture, history, language, theory and literature. The department offers master’s degrees in English and rhetoric and composition, as well as undergraduate degrees in literary studies, film studies, creative writing, professional writing and English education. Learn more at https://english.appstate.edu.

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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