Literary Biography

Amy Phelps has always had a passion for reading and the written word thanks in part to her late Grandfather who always made sure she had her nose in a book. From an early age she was writing her own short stories and poetry to entertain her family and friends. In high school she wrote comic strips for the school paper, and worked as a copy-editor for the yearbook, but it was in her Literature classes that her love of poetry grew. Every year there would be a unit on Shakespeare and then on poetry itself. It was during these times that Phelps could immerse herself in the language of poetry and seriously began to write her own. Unfortunately, after graduating high school in 2009, writing of any kind took the back burner to life. In the summer of 2014 Phelps decided to take a creative writing poetry course to fulfill an English requirement, in taking this course she rekindled her love for poetry.

Now she’s back in the writing scene and tugging at the souls of her readers with her new poetry. Ms. Phelps has gone back to her southern roots and has chosen to focus on the universal themes of Love, Loss, and Family. Some of her most acclaimed poems include: Cedar Creek, about large creek that ran behind her childhood home. It’s a poem that depicts not only a place held dear, but also shows how one can become emotionally connected to a specific place. For the author Cedar Creek was a place of great imaginings, adventure, and hope. Dear Papa is a heart wrenching poem on the authors fear of losing her grandfather and how she chooses to remember him. When asked once about the poem, Phelps could only say that “Your grandparents never seem old until they’re dead.” Her language and tone in the poem, though laced with fear, give off an overall feeling of love and sweetness. Frozen Ground is another fine example of her new poetry. In this poem Phelps recounts the time she met the man who would become her husband. Written in the Sonnet form the poem discusses how the light that let the couple overcome their pasts, fears, and misgivings was the love they found in each other, and that there is no greater comfort than that. The words and rhythm of the poem can only be described as hauntingly beautiful.

With this promising new start in life and writing, we can only hope to see more good things from Ms. Phelps as she continues on in her endeavor of finishing her bachelor’s degree in English Literature, and going wherever else life may take her.