Tracey Schmidt, a past resident of Tryon, will read from her book of poetry, “I Have Fallen in Love with the World,” on Saturday, May 28 beginning at 3 p.m.

Schmidt will be accompanied by a local musician and she will lead a poetry writing workshop from 4 – 6 p.m. following the reading. Both events are free and open to the public.

“I began writing when I lived on a 100-acre horse farm in Tryon – I was very moved by the beauty of the pair of hawks near my house, the herd of deer that lived in the woods,” said Schmidt. “I would find their nesting spots, and their trails and sometimes they would come into the fields by my house and gaze at me with their enormous, shy eyes.”

The event at The Book Shelf is a preview of Schmidt’s talents, which include photographs that will be displayed at the Tryon Fine Arts Center later this summer. Schmidt’s poetry book, which was published in December by Logosophia Books, includes many of her photographs.

“It would be a better world if the name Tracey Schmidt became a household name and her poems reached millions,” said Daniel Ladinsky, translator of “The Gift: Poems of Sufi Master Hafiz.”

For those interested in signing up for a lengthier poetry course, Schmidt will be teaching a four-week class this summer at Montford Books in Asheville, followed by a fall creativity class.

For more information about these and other events, visit www.traceyschmidt.com.

– article submitted by Stacey Stafford