She first fell in love with words, then French living, her husband and finally, Columbus.
Poet Elizabeth Simpson’s body is quite comfortable in the Highlands home she shares with her husband, Claude.
Her spirit? It’s always searching for the right words.
She is slow to answer questions, measuring every syllable, every word, every sentence.
Simpson thinks before she speaks, a rare trait in today’s fast-moving world of a cacophony of voices shouting over one another to be heard.
“It’s sort of your soul laid bare,” she said of poetry, not the only genre she writes and not the only communication in which she engages.
Simpson teaches the French language course for the Life Enrichment Program at Mississippi University for Women. In September, she expects to be teaching another poetry class.
She was born in Quebec, Canada, and earned her degree in English and linguistics from York University. Simpson was an acquisitions editor for McGraw-Hill in Canada.
Her love of French food and culture took her to Geneva Switzerland, where she worked 20 years as an editor for the United Nations. Her staff translated the business of the day into five languages.
Claude is a native of Columbus. He had been away 50 years when they returned. “We sort of blew here on the wind” after Hurricane Wilma destroyed their home near Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Her first written work was a short story about a white dog that fell in a mud puddle and then began a classic journey of mistaken identity.
What is poetry?
A poem is really an attempt to share a feeling or an idea or thought with an attentive person.
How did you arrive at that definition?
I’ve had a lifetime to think about it.
How old were you when you wrote your first poem, and what was it about?
Eighteen. It was about longing — life kind of passing by.
Who were your poetic influences?
My family was very religious … I just loved listening to biblical text — the King James Version. I just loved language. I enjoyed Langston Hughes’ work because of his beautiful writing.
For the aspiring poets out there, how do they get published?
I haven’t published any of my poems … maybe this year … I think a lot of people maybe hold back because they need encouragement … Poetry is so personal, I think … I’ve had lots of encouragement so now it’s up to me.
What are the words you live by?
It’s something I’ve never thought about. The words change depending on what’s happening.
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