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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

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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

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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

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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

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  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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