About

Tamara Nicholl-Smith: “She puts poems on things.”

Welcome to my humble corner of the internet. I am glad you found me. I am a poet, spoken word artist, performer, and community builder. I also create and lead workshops designed to unlock creative productivity. I love to collaborate, having worked in the past with other poets, musicians, architecture students, and other artists. I would love to do more. Contact me if you have an idea. 

Official Bio:

Tamara Nicholl-Smith’s poetry has appeared in multiple publications, including America magazine, the Kyoto Journal, Ekstasis, Catholic Arts Today, and The Examined Life Journal.  She also has poetry in two Mutabilis Press anthologies: Enchantment of the Ordinary and Chaos, Dive, Reunion. Her forthcoming collection Saints of Sleeping and Waking will be published by Wiseblood Books in 2027.

A former slam poet, Tamara was the first woman ever to win Albuquerque’s city poetry slam championship. She served on two Albuquerque slam teams before returning to her Houston hometown to coach Houston’s 2002 slam team all the way to the national semi-finals.

She enjoys giving public readings and performances, whether to an auditorium of 2,000 people or an intimate coffee house with ten. She was honored to be one of the finalists for the 2025–2027 Houston Poet Laureate.

Tamara has worked professionally in the fields of economic development, consulting, and software development. She has also been trained in various leadership development and personal transformation coaching techniques. She enjoys pairing these with her creative side.

Tamara has had her poems on two Albuquerque bus panels and a parking meter, the latter as part of a civic art program she founded to put art and poetry on city parking meters.  Its title: “The Rhyme and Meter Project.”

She completed her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston. She enjoys puns and likes her bourbon neat.

If you want to use all or any portion of my work other than for a review, please contact me.  Make sure that you give proper attribution to the journal that it appeared in and of course me!