Emlen Smith earned a B.A. in Classical Studies and English from Yale University in 2003, and an M.A. from Penn in 2008. He entered the Penn Ph.D. program in 2005. His main interests are in late republican and Augustan Latin poetry, and particularly in Ovid. Emlen is currently writing a dissertation on the subject of "Names and Naming in Ovid's Exile Poetry" (with a committee including Joseph Farrell, Cynthia Damon, and Emily Wilson), which will explore the use and avoidance of personal names in the Tristia, Ibis, and Epistulae ex Ponto; the overall purpose of the dissertation will be to examine the ways Ovid imagines his relationship with his readers, and deals with the question of who (whether reader or poet) controls the meaning of a poem. Emlen's other interests include classical tragedy and its modern reception (particularly in 17th-century France) and ancient philosophy.