Tamara Nicholl-Smith
Tamara Nicholl-Smith is a poet and spoken word artist living and writing in Houston, Texas. Her poetry has appeared on two Albuquerque city bus panels, one parking meter, numerous radio shows, one spoken-word classical piano fusion CD, and several publications including Kyoto Journal, The Examined Life Journal Issue 8 (and Issue 9 forthcoming), Catholic Arts Today, and the Mutabilis Press anthology Enchantment of the Ordinary.
Tamara has worked professionally in the fields of economic development, consulting, and software development. That has given her exposure to various leadership development and personal transformation methodologies. She enjoys pairing these with her creative side.
She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston. She enjoys puns and likes her bourbon neat.
Visit her online at Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Front Porch on a Rainy Afternoon
When it all becomes too much
I just need to sit and stare
at the gray wall of rain,
curtain of soft hyphens,
and listen to the mild motor sound
of town pigeons,
dressed down doves,
in their come-as-you-are
feathers.
Sometimes;
I need the wind’s help
to cut the power,
to shush the wires, cease the clocks
so that silence can express its thingness
and sit in slow breath at my feet,
like a retired sheepdog.
I would like
to invite you here,
into my room of rain,
where we will set aside
our petulant
ping-ding-buzz boxes.
(For what have they to say that cannot wait?)
I could have lost you last year.
What could be more
important than sitting here
in our great relief
the air hung
with the deep scent
of hydrangeas?
First published in The Examined Life Journal Issue #8.
Recommended Books for Aspiring Writers
Teaching Philosophy
Before we can address improvements in the craft of writing, we have to get to the page in the first place. A person's creative productivity can be unleashed by discovering and articulating the sometimes hidden factors that either enable writing or those that slow down or block it. I believe that people are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole. Therefore, as an instructor, I believe my role is to provide the tools and distinctions that allow people to have greater and more reliable access to the creative richness they already possess within.
Testimonials
"After years of not writing creatively, I attended Tamara’s course Making Space for the Muse. The format allowed me to get my creative juices flowing then and there and inspired me to write more at home after the class. So, I recommend it!" –Suzanne Judge, Wellness Advocate
"I went to this workshop in August of 2019 and it literally changed the course of my life. I ended up deciding that night to accept an offer for a job I had turned down. –Alicia Nagy, Musician
Tamara has worked professionally in the fields of economic development, consulting, and software development. That has given her exposure to various leadership development and personal transformation methodologies. She enjoys pairing these with her creative side.
She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston. She enjoys puns and likes her bourbon neat.
Visit her online at Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Front Porch on a Rainy Afternoon
When it all becomes too much
I just need to sit and stare
at the gray wall of rain,
curtain of soft hyphens,
and listen to the mild motor sound
of town pigeons,
dressed down doves,
in their come-as-you-are
feathers.
Sometimes;
I need the wind’s help
to cut the power,
to shush the wires, cease the clocks
so that silence can express its thingness
and sit in slow breath at my feet,
like a retired sheepdog.
I would like
to invite you here,
into my room of rain,
where we will set aside
our petulant
ping-ding-buzz boxes.
(For what have they to say that cannot wait?)
I could have lost you last year.
What could be more
important than sitting here
in our great relief
the air hung
with the deep scent
of hydrangeas?
First published in The Examined Life Journal Issue #8.
Recommended Books for Aspiring Writers
- In Search of Duende by Federico Garcia Lorca
- Why I Write by George Orwell
- The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke translated by Stephen Mitchell
- Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath
- Poets at Work: Interviews from the Paris Review edited by Vijay Seshadri
Teaching Philosophy
Before we can address improvements in the craft of writing, we have to get to the page in the first place. A person's creative productivity can be unleashed by discovering and articulating the sometimes hidden factors that either enable writing or those that slow down or block it. I believe that people are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole. Therefore, as an instructor, I believe my role is to provide the tools and distinctions that allow people to have greater and more reliable access to the creative richness they already possess within.
Testimonials
"After years of not writing creatively, I attended Tamara’s course Making Space for the Muse. The format allowed me to get my creative juices flowing then and there and inspired me to write more at home after the class. So, I recommend it!" –Suzanne Judge, Wellness Advocate
"I went to this workshop in August of 2019 and it literally changed the course of my life. I ended up deciding that night to accept an offer for a job I had turned down. –Alicia Nagy, Musician