THE PLACE THAT IS COMING TO US, poetry by J. D. Smith

$25.00

Publication Date: September 15, 2025

Paperback, 78 pages

ISBN: 978-1-966677-15-4

J.D. Smith sagely examines and a savagely excavates life of “the innocent and the contrite” in his seventh book of poetry, The Place That Is Coming to Us. His work begs the question: What type of world are we creating? From poems about “Sea Jellies” and “Canine,” to places like “Panajachel” and “At Finzel Swamp, or “Questions on Toads,” Smith’s gaze is far reaching, keenly observant, and honest. In the poem, “Apology in Siege,” the poet would “still like to imagine some god / would help, but” he observes, “that line looks broken/like the water, the gas and electricity.” With intellect, dry humor, and wit, Smith strips the world back, making visible that which the reader may overlook. Herein lies this book’s beauty and necessity. Somehow, Smith remains hopeful in the face of a questionable future. Living, the poet seems to say, is “To watch the animals / as more than travelers across a field of vision, / more than objects spotted in a vehicle’s window…” Even if connections in this world are illusions, dream of them, dream of more.

Praise for J. D. Smith & The Place That Is Coming to Us

Well-traveled and far-seeing, J.D. Smith observes the natural world with wonder and regret. From Longwood Gardens’ seemingly prehistoric dragonflies to the possible evolution of a future millennium’s savage squirrels, Smith serves as ironic skeptic, playful visionary, and sober guide through a troubled Creation whose human populace faces the “long curdling of Republic to Empire.” Invoking Walt Whitman, Smith aspires to “watch the animals / as more than travelers across a field of vision,” and in poems whose non-human cast ranges from aquatic Chesapeake Bay dwellers to bats, corvids, bowerbirds, and more, he succeeds brilliantly. His knack for concision only heightens his poetry’s intensity as he examines the failures of policy and politics that define our time. The Place That Is Coming to Us, quietly urgent, perfectly meets our contemporary moment.

—Ned Balbo, author of The Cylburn Touch-Me-Nots

This “report from the capital” shows a keen eye for both humanity and the creatures we share the world with. From toads to crows to bats, J.D. Smith describes these frequently endangered animals and how through metaphor they symbolize humans’ and earth’s struggles. In short, precise lines and stanzas, Smith warns readers of our damage to the world and the possibilities of saving them if we’re willing. This book by an established master is admirable for both its restraint and beauty. We’re lucky to have more of Smith’s work.

—Donald Illich, author of Chance Bodies

About the Author

J.D. Smith is the author of poetry collections including Catalogs for Food Lovers (Kelsay Books, 2021), The Killing Tree (Finishing Line Press, 2016), and The Hypothetical Landscape (Quarterly Review of Literature Poetry Series, 1999). His poems have appeared in Dark Mountain, Gargoyle, Harvard Review Online, The Hopper, New Verse News, Tar River Poetry, Terrain.org, and numerous anthologies; and his prose has appeared in Boulevard, Chelsea, and The Los Angeles Times. His fiction collection Transit was published by Unsolicited Press in 2022, and he has received Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. A graduate of the University of Houston Creative Writing Program, Smith lives in Washington, DC with his wife Paula Van Lare and their rescue animals. Further information and occasional updates are available at www.jdsmithwriter.com.

Publication Date: September 15, 2025

Paperback, 78 pages

ISBN: 978-1-966677-15-4

J.D. Smith sagely examines and a savagely excavates life of “the innocent and the contrite” in his seventh book of poetry, The Place That Is Coming to Us. His work begs the question: What type of world are we creating? From poems about “Sea Jellies” and “Canine,” to places like “Panajachel” and “At Finzel Swamp, or “Questions on Toads,” Smith’s gaze is far reaching, keenly observant, and honest. In the poem, “Apology in Siege,” the poet would “still like to imagine some god / would help, but” he observes, “that line looks broken/like the water, the gas and electricity.” With intellect, dry humor, and wit, Smith strips the world back, making visible that which the reader may overlook. Herein lies this book’s beauty and necessity. Somehow, Smith remains hopeful in the face of a questionable future. Living, the poet seems to say, is “To watch the animals / as more than travelers across a field of vision, / more than objects spotted in a vehicle’s window…” Even if connections in this world are illusions, dream of them, dream of more.

Praise for J. D. Smith & The Place That Is Coming to Us

Well-traveled and far-seeing, J.D. Smith observes the natural world with wonder and regret. From Longwood Gardens’ seemingly prehistoric dragonflies to the possible evolution of a future millennium’s savage squirrels, Smith serves as ironic skeptic, playful visionary, and sober guide through a troubled Creation whose human populace faces the “long curdling of Republic to Empire.” Invoking Walt Whitman, Smith aspires to “watch the animals / as more than travelers across a field of vision,” and in poems whose non-human cast ranges from aquatic Chesapeake Bay dwellers to bats, corvids, bowerbirds, and more, he succeeds brilliantly. His knack for concision only heightens his poetry’s intensity as he examines the failures of policy and politics that define our time. The Place That Is Coming to Us, quietly urgent, perfectly meets our contemporary moment.

—Ned Balbo, author of The Cylburn Touch-Me-Nots

This “report from the capital” shows a keen eye for both humanity and the creatures we share the world with. From toads to crows to bats, J.D. Smith describes these frequently endangered animals and how through metaphor they symbolize humans’ and earth’s struggles. In short, precise lines and stanzas, Smith warns readers of our damage to the world and the possibilities of saving them if we’re willing. This book by an established master is admirable for both its restraint and beauty. We’re lucky to have more of Smith’s work.

—Donald Illich, author of Chance Bodies

About the Author

J.D. Smith is the author of poetry collections including Catalogs for Food Lovers (Kelsay Books, 2021), The Killing Tree (Finishing Line Press, 2016), and The Hypothetical Landscape (Quarterly Review of Literature Poetry Series, 1999). His poems have appeared in Dark Mountain, Gargoyle, Harvard Review Online, The Hopper, New Verse News, Tar River Poetry, Terrain.org, and numerous anthologies; and his prose has appeared in Boulevard, Chelsea, and The Los Angeles Times. His fiction collection Transit was published by Unsolicited Press in 2022, and he has received Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. A graduate of the University of Houston Creative Writing Program, Smith lives in Washington, DC with his wife Paula Van Lare and their rescue animals. Further information and occasional updates are available at www.jdsmithwriter.com.