its of paper, poetry, a love of linguistics and inspiration are all a part of a new book. Scraps of Paper: A Poetic Journey is the title of Katrina Monique Smith?s a.k.a. Springflower first book, which was released last month at the Chewstick Neo Griot Lounge.

Mrs. Smith said the book has been a long time coming, but she has been steadily working on it for the last two years.

?I made a goal for myself when I was about 26 and that was that I wanted to publish a book,? she said and two years ago at 29, she really got serious about it.

?I started pulling together all of the pieces. My goal was also to have it out before 2005 and I have done that and that is wonderful.?

The title of the book was borne out of the way she wrote it and the times that she was inspired.

?All the poems came off scraps of paper ? I write on everything,? said the mother of three.

?I have pieces written on brown paper bags, on note cards, receipts, napkins ? whatever is at my disposal at that time. It has been times when I have been sitting in a bar and something would strike me and I would write.

?If I am home watching TV and something happens ? I write. If I am at work or driving I just pull over and start writing.

?This is why it is called Scraps of Paper: A Poetic Journey, because that is exactly what it is.?

She has been writing since she was 14 and these days she writes about her husband, her children and anything else that tickles her fancy.

?It is cathartic,? Mrs. Smith said.

?When I wrote in school, it was on assignment and it got therapeutic when I got pregnant at 16.

?I wrote about him (my son), how he changed my world, and how I wasn?t a little kid anymore, and also about being a mother now. That is when I started writing about how I missed my childhood.

?I also began writing about breaking up with fathers and there are pieces like that in there too.?

On the other hand her work can also be seen as somewhat political or social in nature.

?I am very passionate about my writing and one day I wrote something based on an article I had seen in the newspaper,? she said.

?I don?t know if you remember the story about the mother of five who was put out of her home and I was really upset with Bermuda?s response. This girl needed a place, it wasn?t that she couldn?t pay her bills, she needed somewhere to live with her children.

?But people were coming back with what is she doing with five children??

So, I wrote a piece about that and it was firing at the system and the bubble Bermuda lives in.?

About five years ago she attended the International Society of Poetry, in Florida.

?I got to meet poets from all over the world people from Japan, Africa ? that was the event,? she said.

?It was amazing just to meet people from Australia and they are just like you. I realised that when I went there that we are more the same than we are different.?

Some of her favourite writers are also songwriters, bards and modern day writers.

?Songwriter and singer Alanis Morisette inspired me to increase my vocabulary,? said the woman who lives with a dictionary and thesaurus.

?With words like loquacious and others.

?I also like Shakespeare, Jill Scott, Maya Angelou.

?Maya Angelou is older and she is wiser, she doesn?t mince words and although I can?t recite any of her work off the top of my head I read her books and I like the way that she just says it and tells it like it is.

?She is straight forward and she is not all over the place and a lot of my pieces are like that as well.?

When asked how she felt about the book being completed, she said: ?I feel elated ? like bliss.

?I am happy with the response ? people love it ? a goal has been accomplished and I have checked it off.

?More books are coming and they are in the works right now.?

You will always find her up Chewstick Neo Griot Lounge reciting.

?I am very much a free-style artist in live performance,? she said.

?The atmosphere is awesome and I call everybody family. It doesn?t matter if you are dancing, painting, writing, playing an instrument ? we are all artists and we all come together to share our stuff.

?I started performing live at Flow Sunday and it was nice to hear people?s responses to your writing and it is very addictive.

?I have been in a few shows with Mitchell (Live Wire) Trott and the Caisey Family.

?Hopefully in the future I would like to put a show together with some of my favourite artists.?

But does she gain inspiration from reading other writer?s works?

?I think that I mostly read other people?s work to get away from my own,? said Mrs. Smith.

?For instance I critique my own work and wondering if it is okay, so reading other people?s works helps to relax me and get me in my zone.

?I also try to support local poets and I buy their books, like Rochee (Jahro) Douglas, who published recently. There is another lady, Janet Cooper that writes and when I attended Flow Sunday they always put out little books.

?Neno Letu came after Flow Sunday and although it was short-lived they also put out a little book.

?When I went to the International Society of Poetry I bought a few of their books ? so I like to buy from people who are also not known. There is some talent in this world and some mega-talent in this Island.?

Many traditional publishing houses are very sceptical about publishing poetry.

?Oh poetry, that really doesn?t sell well, but you have to develop a taste for it and some people develop a taste and some people just like it period.

?Most people I have sold to don?t come to Chewstick, but they love the realness about what I wrote.

?This book will appeal to people who are not poets and for those who love poetry.?

The book was entirely self-published and she said: ?Everything came out of my husband?s pocket and my pocket.

?We made some very great financial sacrifices and that?s how we did it.

?I didn?t feel like I wanted the hassle of trying to find a sponsor ? I knew what I wanted to do and I also knew that I wanted to do it my way.

?I am looking at a more traditional publishing route for the future ? my feet are wet now.?

The book was released on December 18 at Chewstics and she had a very good turn out.

?It was really nice,? she said, ?And my family came out and stepped into my vibe.? The woman, who is also known as Springflower, chose her name because I was born in April and she loves flowers.

?I am very colourful and it is in spring when everything comes back to life,? she said.

?This is the best way that I can describe the person that I am.?

But in the future, whether near or far, her dream is to one day leave Bermuda on a literary sojourn.

?If I had my way, I would travel around this world with a knapsack, notepads, pens and pencils and that?s it,? she said. ?In my real world, I am a gypsy, even though I work at KPMG.?

The book is priced at $25 and is being sold at True Reflections and The Bookmart. She will be having a book signing on January 14, between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

She can also be reached on 737-3187 or by emailing springflower02hotmail.com.