Shirley Smith Franklin, Poet, Writer

I’m a lifelong Midwesterner, except for a year spent in New York City and a total of about seven years, off and on, in India. I’ve loved poetry ever since my mother read to me from the Childcraft books, and a volume of her favorite American poems.

My work often reflects a lifelong immersion in hymns. I write memories, observations of ordinary life, to find out what I think, for fun or a poetic challenge, sometimes a song, or just to get things off my mind.