Frank Smith 

Described by the American conceptual poet Vanessa Place as a “linguistic craftsman”, Frank Smith is a writer/poet, video artist and filmmaker. He lives in Paris and Los Angeles. He is represented by the Analix Forever Gallery in Geneva. 

The products of his research, which fuses poetry, politics and image, have been presented through readings, conferences, performances, exhibitions, screenings and installations at many festivals, galleries and arts centers. 

“Frank Smith is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic poets of our time. ‘Enigmatic’ here refers to an author whose poetry sounds like an enigma, a question – the question of a ‘making’, a ‘poesis’ brought into being for no other reason or intent than overcoming this double absence. The fruits of this enigma are his books and the virtuosic inspiration with which they bring it to life.”

(Laurent de Sutter, philosopher)

“A precise, committed voice, never superficial or precious.”

(Paul Ardenne, art historian and curator). 

Frank Smith has published a dozen books so far, including Guantanamo, which was judged the best poetry book of 2014 by the US-based Huffington Post and has been adapted for the stage by Eric Vigner, and his writing has appeared in several literary reviews (Nioques, If, Chimères, Lignes, etc.).

To further his poetical investigations, Frank Smith also works as a video artist; his films were the subject of a retrospective at the Pompidou Centre in 2015, 2016 and 2017 (Hors Pistes festival). 

He is a long-serving radio producer at France Culture, where he produced La poésie n'est pas une solution broadcast, and with Philippe Langlois, co-directed the cult sound engineering show, L’Atelier de création radiophonique (Creative Radio Workshop) from 2001 to 2011. He has also written numerous dramas and documentaries for radio. 

Frank Smith is also an editor: with Antoine Dufeu he co-edits the critical and analytical poetry review RIP, launched in September 2016, and directs the “ZagZig” collection of artists’ books and CDs that he established at Dis Voir. 

– Most recent work: 

・Guantanamo, translated by Vanessa Place, Praise by Avital Ronell, Les Figues Press (Los Angeles), 2014

・Katrina, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiane, Éditions de l'Attente, 2015

・Fonctions Bartleby, Bref traité d'investigations poétiques, Éditions Le Feu Sacré, 2015

・Le Film des visages, Éditions Plaine page, 2016

・En procès. Une histoire du XXe siècle, Inculte, 2016 (Contribution dans le cadre du collectif Inculte)

・Choeurs politiques, Éditions de l'Attente, 2017

・Le Film de l'impossible, Éditions Plaine page, 2017

・24 états du corps par seconde, Jean-Philippe Cazier et Frank Smith, Éditions Lanskine, 2018

– Most recent films: 

・Le Film des questions (The Film of Questions), presented at Centre Pompidou for its Hors Pistes Festival 2015

・Le Film des visages (The Film of Faces), commissioned by the Pompidou Centre for its Hors Pistes film Festival 2016

・Le Film de l'impossible (The Film of the Impossible), presented at Centre Pompidou for its Hors Pistes Festival 2017 

・Les Films du monde / 51 cinétracts, (The Films of the World / 51 cinetracts), presented at Centre de la Photographie, Genève, 2018

・Le Film du dehors (The Film from Outside), video-installation presented at Centre Pompidou for its Hors Pistes Festival 2018