Celebrating Tennessee Williams

In 1935, the 3 college friends spent much time together on Washington University campus in St. Louis, discussing writing as a craft and reading their poems to each other. One - Clark Mills, a senior - was already a well-known poet. The other 2 - Bill, a freshman, and Tom, also a senior - also hoped to become published writers and poets. But probably neither one of them ever envisioned exactly what the future had in store for them. For Bill was to become William Jay Smith, noted American poet and Library of Congress Consultant on Poetry. And his friend Tom was to become Tennessee Williams, one of America's greatest dramatists and the winner of 2 Pulitzer Prizes.

Tonight, Smith, now 93, returned to the Library of Congress to read from his latest book My Friend Tom: The Poet-Playwright Tennessee Williams and discuss his long friendship with Williams, who would have celebrated his 101st today.

The poet William Jay Smith

"I am probably one of the few people alive who knew Tom before he became Tennessee," Smith said. "He was always exactly the same, a warm person."

Smith said his new book "is not a long book, but it has been long in the making."

After college, Smith and Williams went their separate ways for a short period. After Smith returned from World War II, the 2 reunited in New York where Williams' play The Glass Menagerie was being performed. Much of the play was autobiographical and Smith, as a friend, was able to recognize all those details and nuances.

"It was somewhat strange because I spent so many years in that home he depicts so beautifully in that play," Smith said.

From that point on they remained in contact until Williams' death in 1983. In addition to recollections of personal memories and conversations, Smith consulted the vast trove of materials Williams left behind. "He never tore anything up because he thought there might be something in it that could be saved," Smith said.

Smith said that even though his friend became known for his dramas, he never lost the poet's touch. "He had a great ear. His characters spoke as they would. But his work has a rhythm like you would hear if you were reading poetry. I think some of his work is really prose poetry," Smith explained.

Tales, Tips, and Tidbits

Williams at work

I have a few connections to Tennessee Williams. He was the subject of my senior English paper at Villanova University. My assignment was to read everything that Williams had ever published and then try to give it my perspective. Of course, this gave me the opportunity to really learn to appreciate Williams and his craft. Tennessee and I also share the same March 26th birth date. So, attending this free presentation was a birthday gift to myself. However, Smith, in his remarks, gave me one of the the greatest surprise gifts of my life. His poem, "American Primitive" is one of my favorite short poems. After explaining that both he and Williams wrote to reconcile and understand their feelings about their family, Smith proceeded to recite the poem from memory. So thank you, Mr. Smith and Mr. Williams, for making my 60th birthday special.