Obit: Harry Smith, beloved Heights-based poet and publisher, dies in Maine at 76
Longtime Brooklyn Heights resident Harry Smith, a poet and publisher whom the NY Times Book Review called “a venerable small press editor” , died recently at the age of 76 in Portland, Maine.
Smith was a beloved and benevolent figure in Brooklyn Heights. Walking along local streets, he presented a huge frame and bearded face, and often muttered thoughts to himself. Neighbors and passers-by found that engaging him in conversation brought out a bright smile and highly intelligent thoughts that made the encounter , well, sunny. He possessed what one former editor of the Brooklyn Heights Press called “ a wicked wit” , often shared with Heights neighbors in letters to the editor.
Despite a formidable physical presence, his modest manner belied a stellar career, perhaps unequalled, in alternative press publishing and poetry.