Curves

Curves brings together topical poems written during 2020 by Linda Varsell Smith, a poet from Oregon. For many years she led writing workshops and taught creative writing at a local community college, and she is now retired from teaching. A literary publications class she ran produced The Eloquent Umbrella, an award-winning showcase of the writing and art of the community. She spent more than thirty years as an editor at Calyx Books and served as president of the Oregon Poetry Association. In 2020 she received the Pat Banta Award for promoting poets and poetry, and she is currently president of PEN Women in Portland.

Her activities include several poetry and writing groups, many of which were put on hold by the pandemic or moved online to Zoom. She is also part of Writing the Wrongs to Rights, a group that grew out of the Women's March. Outside of writing she plays Scrabble, both cooperatively and competitively, and she misses the plays, most poetry readings, craft fairs and art shows that have been paused. Her interests include astrophysics and a range of spiritual traditions.

She has lived in Corvallis, Oregon, for over 50 years. At home she shares her life with her husband Court, surrounded by more than 3,000 angels, Swedish folk art, elves and fairies, and seasonal miniatures displayed in a small museum of her own. During quarantine she slips into the backyard to gather chi, and on weekend outings with Court they stay seated in the car.