Poet. Writer. Gardener. Chris supports poets through ongoing poetry groups and workshops. She hosted and directed the Poetry Open Mic at the Salt Spring Island Public Library for five years. Please subscribe or use the contact form to sign up for workshops or inquire about readings.
Lorraine Scollan filmed her as part of the Poets Caravan, a Victoria Planet Earth Poetry project. Video Christine Smart
Chris grew up on a farm in Québec and graduated from Queen’s University with a BScN in 1976 and from the University of Victoria with a BFA in 1997. She is grateful for all the teachers, mentors and poets who have inspired her over the years. Her career in public health spanned many decades until her recent retirement.
Books in Print available here via PayPal
The White Crow, Hedgerow Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-926618-02-9 www.hedgerowpress.com $15 (includes shipping in Canada )
decked and dancing, Hedgerow Press, 2006, ISBN 0-9736882-3-8 $15 (includes shipping in Canada ) Winner of the Acorn-Plantos Award for Peoples Poetry in 2007.
Anthologies (1-8 poems each)
don’t tell, family secrets, eds. Donna McCart Sharkey & Arleen Paré, Demeter Press, 2022
Sweet Water, Poems for the Watersheds, ed. Yvonne Blomer, Caitlin Press, 2020.
We Are One, Poems from the Pandemic, ed. George Melnyk, Bayeux Arts, 2020.
The Sky is Falling, A collection of Pandemic Poems, ed. Sheila Martingale, 2020.
Love of the Salish Sea Islands, ed. Mona Fertig, Mother Tongue Press, 2019.
Beyond Forgetting, Celebrating 100 Years of Al Purdy, ed. Howard White & Emma Skagen, Harbour Publishing, 2018.
Refugium, Poems for the Pacific, ed. Yvonne Blomer, Caitlin Press, 2017.
Blackberries, Poems from the Salt Spring Library Open Mic, ed. Diana Hayes & George Sipos, Rainbow Publishers, 2017.
Coming Home, ed. Diana Hayes, Rainbow Publishers, 2003.
Mocambo Nights, ed. Patrick Lane, Ekstasis Editions, 2003.
Pomegranate, Stamullion Publishing, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Blindfolds, 1999 and Community of Monsters,1998, Chapbooks, ed. Patrick Lane, Outlaw Editions.
Vintage ’92, League of Canadian Poets.
Contest Winners
“Hummingbird” poem, winner of the Federation of BC Writers 2020 Literary Writes Contest, published in WordWorks 2020 Vol. II.
“Harvest” poem, shortlisted for the FBCW 2022 Poetry Contest.