Morganton poet releasing first collection

The only seats available in the coffee shop were by the door, where Angela Smith got comfortable on the yellow couch before discussing the upcoming release of her first book of poetry, “Tattoos, Tacos, and Time,” a collection of writings covering everything from the love of wilderness to the love of women.

In a little less than a week, on Thursday, May 21, from 5-7 p.m., Smith will be at Moondog Pizza on South Sterling Street during the Art Crawl, which happens on the third Thursday of each month, selling copies of her book alongside other artists.

“When I wrote these, publishing was the farthest thing from my mind,” she said, sitting in a coffee shop just down the road from Waterbean Coffee, where she goes to write when she’s not working in the comfort of her home.

“I was writing to process,” she continued. “I was writing to explore. I was writing to know, and, in some cases, writing to remember.”

Smith, who publishes under the pen name Angela Leigh, originally wrote fiction, but decided after preparing her collection to pursue poetry. She’s currently working on compiling a second collection and said that many of her poems come in spurts.

“I write at red lights,” she said. “I stop at a red light, three sentences come to mind, and I put them in the notes app. Then later, (I go) back when I have time to finish.”

Smith’s experience with poetry began as unrhymed, unmetered free verse. At the time, she taught English at Freedom High School, and felt that she should be able to set an example when teaching poetry, and therefore began writing in different forms, such as haiku.

When she read at different open mics and other events in town, people would ask if she was published, which planted a seed that eventually bloomed into “Tattoos, Tacos, and Time.”

The name is drawn from a haiku she wrote that she felt captured the overall themes of love, loss, and self-discovery.

The book’s 89 poems explore sapphic themes, focusing on LGBTQ+ love and are accompanied by illustrations created by Amber Zezeck, which Smith coordinated with prior to publishing.

Although many of the poems could be read and interpreted by readers of any gender, Smith hopes it reaches a queer audience, since she feels the literature for people across that community is limited.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about art — poetry specifically,” Smith said. “How I intended it when I wrote it, may or may not be how everyone that reads it receives it. Those added layers of meaning that each reader adds to it make it even more beautiful.”

A DONATION PER BOOK

While the books will cost about $17 each, Smith explained that $2 of each sale will be donated to a local Pride organization. If there is no local organization, the donation will go to the Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project is an international nonprofit organization that aims to end suicide among the LGBTQ+ community through education, advocacy, and research in mental health.

“If we end up putting an event on the calendar and I sell the books there, at (Box Turtle Books in Shelby), then $2 will go to Shelby Pride,” Smith explained. “Right now, there’s not really anything active in Morganton for a Pride organization, so I would take the $2 and donate it to the Trevor Project.”

Smith explained that her passion for the cause traces back to when she owned Adventure Bound Books, which received a one-star review for being the “wokest book store east of the Mississippi.”

“I said, ‘That needs to be on a mug,’” Smith explained, “and then it was, and the proceeds went to the Trevor Project.”