New Books Network Crystal Simone Smith, "Common Sense (1776), Addressed to Today's Citizen's of America: An Erasure" (Beacon, 2026)
Mar 25, 2026
Crystal Simone Smith, award-winning poet who uses erasure and visual poetry, reworks Thomas Paine’s text into a mirror for today. She discusses why Common Sense invited redaction, her visual and performative design choices, how the erasures disrupt Paine’s exclusionary rhetoric, and the craft and revision process behind making the work speak to modern citizens.
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Founding Text As Mirror For Exclusion
- Crystal Simone Smith sees Common Sense as a foundational text that both champions liberation and excludes women and people of color.
- Her erasure reframes Paine's 1776 pamphlet into a mirror revealing omissions that shape ongoing struggles for equality.
Why Erasure Suits Common Sense
- Erasure poetry redacts an existing document to expose hidden meaning and omission.
- Smith chose Common Sense because its revered status hides deeper biases and absences that erasure can illuminate.
From Blackout Attempts To Dual-Text Design
- Smith began with blackout attempts but found Paine's archaic language didn't render lyrically for her.
- She pivoted to reveal contradictions while allowing readers to access the original text as backdrop to her poems.
