Assistant Director of Academic Advising Curtis Smith recently had one of his essays featured in “A Harp in the Stars: An Anthology of Lyric Essays.” The essay, “I’m No Sidney Poitier,” recalls his
early years of teaching special learning students in a local high school.
The essay also contains a series of reflections about his past and what happens when a young teacher’s desire to do good meets up with the world’s reality.
Smith says he was inspired to write this essay after he saw the movie “To Sir, With Love” as a child.
“That movie gave a tangible narrative to some of the tides that were already churning in me, and it was one of the touchstones in my desire to teach one day,” said Smith. “I retired from that job in 2015, and since, I’ve written a few essays about my time in the classroom. When I re-watched this movie, a lot came back to me, not only about the movie but about my early years in the classroom.”
Smith has previously published two collections of essays and a book of creative nonfiction, along with ten fiction books.