From cultural appropriation to gender, Smith nails the politics of creativity. But on actual politics, she is less assured From cultural appropriation to gender, Smith nails the politics of creativity. But on actual politics, she is less assured A ccepting a literary prize in Ohio last year, the novelist Zadie Smith described “feeling somewhat alienated from myself, experiencing myself as a posthumous entity”. Smith is only 50, but there is indeed something of the afterlife about the material