Heather Derr-Smith

Who is Heather Derr-Smith?

Heather Derr-Smith is an American poet. She was born in Dallas, Texas in 1971 and spent her early childhood in Los Angeles, California. Her family then moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia where she spent her middle and high school years. She studied at the University of Virginia, earning a B.A. in Art History. At UVA she also took poetry workshops with Gregory Orr, Charles Wright and Rita Dove.

She went on to earn her MFA in Poetry at the Iowa Writers' Workshop where she studied with Marvin Bell, Jorie Graham, Jim Galvin, and Mark Doty. Her first book, "Each End of the World" was published by Main Street Rag Press in 2005. The book was called "Astonishing" and "a devastating performance" by Mark Doty. The poems are about the 1991-1996 wars in the former Yugoslavia, where Derr-Smith volunteered in a refugee camp in Gasinci, Croatia in the summer of 1994.

Derr-Smith's second collection of poems, "The Bride Minaret" was published at the University of Akron Press. It was selected by Elton Glaser for the Akron Series in Poetry in 2008. It was edited by Mary Biddinger. The poems are about personal and global issues of exile and identity. There is also a strong sense of place and connection to the natural environment.