Today we continue with our series, Why Do You Write? Curtis Smith's deceptively simple response speaks to the myriad of reasons we approach the blank page.


I write because musical notes might as well be Russian.

I write because the thought of my desk can lure me from bed before a January sunrise.

I write because I’ve found joy in ending a sentence with just the right word.

I write because I’ve dropped my anchor and declared my art form in this world of endless diversions.

I write because I hear voices when my pen glides over a page.

I write because notions of time turn slippery behind my study’s shut door.

I write while the rest of the house is asleep.

I write amid the din of crowds.

I write to be immersed in a place of my choosing.

I write as I eat my hurried lunch, the crumbs swept from my pages.

I write to honor my days in this strange and beautiful place.

I write to know myself better than I did yesterday.

I write because I can, and I know one day I won’t be able to.

I’m thankful today isn’t that day.

Curtis Smith is the author of two collections of flash fiction, two story collections, and three novels. His most recent book is Witness, an essay collection from Sunnyoutside Press.