Hello and welcome!
I'm Colby Cedar Smith. I am a poet, author, and teaching artist.
I grew up in the Midwest, but now I live in Central New Jersey with my husband, two kids, and a rescue pup named Poppy.
I'm Colby Cedar Smith. I am a poet, author, and teaching artist.
I grew up in the Midwest, but now I live in Central New Jersey with my husband, two kids, and a rescue pup named Poppy.
One of my favorite things about being a writer is that I get to share my love for poetry and the written word with others. I teach young children, teens, college students, and adults, and I also facilitate leadership and communications courses for large and small businesses.
I have a BA in Creative Writing from Colorado College and an EdM in Arts in Education from Harvard University. Because of my background in the arts, I often use visual art, music, and nature exploration in my workshops.
Whatever the setting, I love helping my students to explore the wonders of language. I believe that artistic communities increase empathy, trust, imagination, cross-cultural understanding, and emotional awareness.
I have a BA in Creative Writing from Colorado College and an EdM in Arts in Education from Harvard University. Because of my background in the arts, I often use visual art, music, and nature exploration in my workshops.
Whatever the setting, I love helping my students to explore the wonders of language. I believe that artistic communities increase empathy, trust, imagination, cross-cultural understanding, and emotional awareness.
Photo credits: Helen Corveleyn, Wendy Heiser, Melissa Kuscin
Here's my official bio:
Colby Cedar Smith is an award-winning poet, novelist, and educator and the author of two verse novels The Siren and the Star (Simon & Schuster, 2025) and Call Me Athena (Andrews McMeel, 2021). Her work often focuses on the untold stories of women throughout history and has been selected for an American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick, a Goodreads Choice for Poetry Nominee, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, a Michigan Notable Book Award, a Midwest Book Award, and a New Jersey Council on the Arts Fellowship in Poetry. Colby’s poems have been published in POETRY, The Iowa Review, Mid-American Review, Pleiades, Bellevue Review, and her work has been featured on many news outlets such as NPR, Forbes, Writers Rumpus, SCBWI Insights, and The American Library Associations The Hub. Smith holds a BA in creative writing from Colorado College and an EdM in Arts in Education from Harvard University. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband, two kids, and rescue pup. To learn more visit colbycedarsmith.com or find her on Instagram @colby_cedar_smith.
Colby Cedar Smith is an award-winning poet, novelist, and educator and the author of two verse novels The Siren and the Star (Simon & Schuster, 2025) and Call Me Athena (Andrews McMeel, 2021). Her work often focuses on the untold stories of women throughout history and has been selected for an American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick, a Goodreads Choice for Poetry Nominee, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, a Michigan Notable Book Award, a Midwest Book Award, and a New Jersey Council on the Arts Fellowship in Poetry. Colby’s poems have been published in POETRY, The Iowa Review, Mid-American Review, Pleiades, Bellevue Review, and her work has been featured on many news outlets such as NPR, Forbes, Writers Rumpus, SCBWI Insights, and The American Library Associations The Hub. Smith holds a BA in creative writing from Colorado College and an EdM in Arts in Education from Harvard University. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband, two kids, and rescue pup. To learn more visit colbycedarsmith.com or find her on Instagram @colby_cedar_smith.