Sharon M. Carter
Sharon M. Carter was born in London following its devastation from WW2’s Blitz. Her family left to find work in the north of England, settling in a Lancashire seaside resort. Part-time work was freely available, and her early jobs included ice cream seller, waitress, and postwoman. During these decades education was free and this proved pivotal in allowing her to graduate from Cambridge University with a medical degree. Originally trained as a family physician, she was a practicing psychiatrist for over thirty years.
Sharon has lived in London (again), several locations around the UK, a short stint in Greece, and aboard ship as a staff member of the Semester at Sea. She once traveled overland to Nepal. After immigrating in the 1970s via Indiana, she moved to the Pacific Northwest to which she is more firmly attached than a limpet. A lifelong artist working in multiple media she currently devotes most of her time to writing, though there’s a subtle interaction.
Sharon is also the author of the poetry book, Quiver (Tebot Bach 2022). Ekphrastic Pastiche, a book combining poetry and original drawings, was released in 2024. She will always be indebted to the Hedgebrook Foundation for its generosity early in her writing career. The Jack Straw Writer’s program also provided guidance on presentation. She has co-edited an online literary magazine and helped run a reading series. Other roles have included, cyclist, mother, skier, adventure traveler, and backpacker.
Visit Sharon online at SharonMCarter.com
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Poem from Mimosas at Sunset
Childhood Lilac
Their purple grazed my childhood window— heady perfume, respite from cigarette smoke, burning coal. They heralded summer’s promise, weeks on local beaches. Roller skates. Diving boards at the outdoor swimming pool— decades long gone. The house demolished for a concrete-and-steel police station where numerous suspects were roughed up. Childhood’s lost innocence dancing at memory’s edge. The way blossoms spoil— brown-tinged, sweet smell of decay.
