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Monica E. Smith is basically self-taught as a writer, learning from what she has read read and "from my own mistakes".
Monica enjoys writing about everyday things, and feels that a poem can be found anywhere. Her family continues to play a most important part in her writing. They have always had confidence in her, even when she wasn’t so sure of herself. Family and friends have been the “subjects” of much of her better poetry, as “Love makes for a fertile garden in which poetry can grow”.
About her writing, Monica explains "I feel poetry need not be written in a complicated language for the select few. I find, even in the brevity of poetry the freedom of expression, and in that there is freedom in expression.” She feels what is most important in writing a poem is the sharing. The two must go hand-in-hand, as it is the sharing/experience of the poem which makes it live. “Many times, people experience the same feelings but do not know how or are unable to express them. To see that the poet has felt or experienced what they have provides a precious link with another, giving a sense of belonging.”
Monica is the author of Days of Fine Gray Ash (a collection of poems regarding the many nuances of love, which was endorsed by Poet/Author Nikki Giovanni), available through her web site, Expresso Cafe . Her poems have been published in many national and international journals.
Her second book, Kindred: A Family Portrait, was released in 2008 and is available in many locations on the internet, for instance: https://www.amazon.com/Kindred-Family-Portrait-Monica-Smith/dp/1440104298/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491486686&sr=1-1&keywords=kindred%2C+monica+e.+smith
Kindred: A Family Portrait, is a collection of poetry delving into our relationship with Nature. In Monica's words, "We cannot remember too often that when we observe nature, and especially the ordering of nature, it is always ourselves alone we are observing". This was a belief of the German physicist/philosopher, G.C. Lichtenberg. One gets the feeling from this that we are looking into a mirror. And, perhaps we are. Man's connection with nature is truly a strong one-of this there is no doubt! Our first thought when we want to get away from the burdens of life is to go to the woods, the lake, the beach, the mountains or the sea-to nature. Is it a coincidence that we feel so much at home in nature? I don't think so; for home is that sacred place we feel we belong. It is a place where we can be ourselves and find the comfort and peace for which we long. It just might be that what we ultimately need when times are difficult, rather than distance, is familiarity, family and reflection of ourselves; perhaps this is what calls us to nature. So, when we feel the need to visit our favorite natural surroundings it may not be so much that we are getting away, but that we are coming home....".
Monica has had poems purchased for two of author June Cotner’s books: To Have and to Hold: Prayers for Newlyweds and Miracles of Motherhood: Prayers and Poems for a New Mother, both of which where released in spring 2007. Another of her poems is being kept by Ms. Cotner for a future book. Monica also has had several poems included in many of the PoetWorks Press anthologies, the latest of which— Baby Boomer Birthright— was released in October 2008.
Monica enjoys reading and exploring her family ancestry, as well as her new-found love of photography, which she calls “silent poetry”. She has been experimenting with creating Haiku-Photography, a form which has recently risen from the original Haiga (Haiku Painting). Two of her Haiku-Photography poems were published in the February 2008 issue of Sketchbook -- A Journal for Eastern and Western Short Forms.
In August 2008, she released her first book of photography with blurb.com, Going Coastal, a coffee table book containing photographs of coastal areas from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans, Lake Erie, Lake Michigan and smaller areas in between. Her second book with blurb.com, Dog-matized: The Comical Truth of LIfe with a Jack-A-Bee was released in September 2008.
Monica welcomes all correspondence at monica@purplequill.com
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