Jan E Smith Biography

I was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. Life was never easy, but my Mother did her best to provide us with a loving home. Without getting in to all the details, our family consists of several entities… mine, yours, ours, and even an adopted… All in all there were 7 girls and 4 boys. My Mother worked part time, and my Father was a Fireman. We had our chores to do, as well as plenty of activities and time for fun. I turned to writing at an early age in an attempt to remain sane. Have you ever shopped at Costco on a Friday night just before Christmas? That is what living in a house with so many people felt like to me. I never was alone with my thoughts and I felt I couldn’t escape the shopping carts. This is the only way I know how to explain it. Poetry saved my soul and my sanity. I have Mr. Thorp, my 5th grade teacher to thank for that. He was the person who inspired me to write my first poem. I never knew such freedom and relief with so few words. It was Heaven. Through the years I have seen a lot of joy, sadness, love, lost people I care about. I have worked to become the person I thought I needed to be career wise. Married at a young age, and lost my first born son. Divorced, married again, had two wonderful children. Raised them, and continue to go on learning from life. I am just now posting my poetry, as I need to grow. Writing the poems comes easy, sharing them is a whole different story. Aren’t we humans funny creatures? Thank you for taking the time to read about me. I hope you enjoy my poems.