Talking With Poets: Nathan Smith at MochaLisa’s Caffè

Thom Francis introduces us to poet and RPI PhD student Nathan Smith.

Nathan is a 25-year old PhD student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute studying Biochemistry and writing poetry to stay sane. He has been writing since he was 16 growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. These days he has been published in literary magazines “Baily’s Beads” and “Resonance” and received first-place awards in the “Talk without Borders” poetry competition and the “McKinney Writing Contest” for poetry. He published his first poetry anthology “Cotton Candy Sun” in December and hoped to publish more of his work in the future. You can find him at his bi-weekly open mic “Empowered by Poetry” in Troy NY or on Instagram at @CottonCandyPoems.

Nathan was one of the featured poets at the Hudson Valley Writers Guild’s Year in Review reading at MochaLisa’s Caffè in Clifton Park on December 2, 2023.