With allusions to david bowie and interplanetary travel life on mars imagines a soundtrack for the universe to accompany the discoveries failures and oddities of human existence in these brilliant new poems tracy k smith envisions a sci fi future sucked clean of any real dangers contemplates the dark matter that keeps people both close and distant and revisits the kitschy concepts like love and illness now relegated to the museum of obsolescence these poems reveal the . Life on mars is a poetry collection by tracy k smith for which she won the 2012 pulitzer prize the collection is an elegy for her father a scientist who worked on the hubble telescope. This is tracy k smiths second book of poetry her first book being wade in the water tracys poems are absolutely beautiful the cover of the book has a beautiful photo of mars on it and each poem within the book seems to ask questions about our experiences on earth and why they matter and what they all mean some of the poems look at more existential questions which relates to the idea of living on another planet or at least feeling like youre living on another planet she . In this brilliant collection of new poems tracy k smith envisions a sci fi future sucked clean of any real dangers contemplates the dark matter that keeps people both close and distant and revisits kitschy concepts like love and illness now relegated to the museum of obsolescence with allusions to david bowie and interplanetary travel life on mars imagines a soundtrack for the universe accompanying the discoveries failures and oddities of human existence and establishing smith as . Of poetry winning the pulitzer prize for her 2011 volume life on mars her used to create this study guide smith tracy k life on mars graywolf press 2011 life on mars begins with a series of poems in section one that focus on visions of the future and meditations on outer space and the universe the poem sci fi describes life on mars by tracy k