Erin Elizabeth Smith teaches poetry writing, public writing, and a variety of literature and genre classes including Women in American Literature and Introduction to Poetry at the University of Tennessee. Her first book of poetry, The Fear of Being Found, was published by Three Candles Press in early 2008 and her chapbook, The Chainsaw Bears, was published by Dancing Girl Press. Her second full-length collection, The Naming of Strays was released by Gold Wake Press in 2011.
Smith’s poetry and nonfiction have appeared in 32 Poems, Mid-American, The Yalobusha Review, New Delta Review, Florida Review, Third Coast, Crab Orchard, Revolution House, West Branch, and Willow Springs, among others. In 2009, she graduated with her PhD in Creative Writing from the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. In 1999, she founded Stirring: A Literary Collection, and since then has also served as the managing editor of Sundress Publications and the Best of the Net Anthology (2006-2013). Smith currently lives in Oak Ridge, TN where she is the Creative Director for Sundress Academy for the Arts at Firefly Farms.
Click to read three poems by Smith: