In April, Brooklyn-based poet and author Tracy K. Smith received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for her book "Life on Mars," a collection of poems that touches on childhood, the universe and the loss of her late father, an engineer who worked on the Hubble telescope. Smith joins us to discuss the award, her writings and why she looked to outer space to gain perspectives on issues closer to home.

• More: About the book "Life on Mars" - at IndieBound.org
• More: About Tracy K. Smith - at Poets.org