Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eleanor Perry-Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Eleanor, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.

My parents opened an ice cream shop and deli in the 80’s, and it was a second home for my sister and I. It was a business, so it’s not like there was a lot for me to do there. I’d get wildly bored and start washing ice cream buckets for fun. Then I’d organize condiments or peel hardboiled eggs. Things like that.

When I turned 12, my parents told me that I wasn’t allowed to legally work, but I was pulling the same workload as their employees, so they started paying me an hourly allowance. Hah. I consider them my first bosses. They taught me how to look for ways to help, not just wait around to be told what to do. They gave me autonomy. I did math on the register, navigated the Kafkaesque halls of the nearby hospital for deliveries, and spent way too much time elaborately chalking the soup of the day board. Then I had my own money to spend wisely on ugly shoes.

The best part was watching my parents simply make work an extension of who they were. My dad recited poetry while we ran errands, played chess with his friends at the counter in the evenings, and pulled pranks as often as he could. My mom hosted community meetings, threw massive birthday parties with six-foot banana splits, and became a shoulder to cry on in the kitchen for countless distraught souls.

My parents revealed that work should inspire joy in both you and your patrons.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was a very happy kid until I turned 10. Middle school chewed me up and spat me out. Fortunately, that’s when I discovered poetry could cure what ailed me. I loved writing more than anything, so I continued focusing on the craft through grad school. I became a journalist but there was always something missing: Pure creation.

I didn’t consider writing poetry professionally until I was nearly 30. I began reciting poetry in my melodic style, and the work took off. I started publishing poems with international publishers and performing poetry for live events across the country. I collaborated with artists and filmmakers. Recently, one of my poems showed at several film festivals, and I hosted an art show with two friends at a gallery in Denver. It still blows my mind what can happen when you heed an inner calling.

I have a pragmatic side that I use with journalism, editing, and speechwriting. But my truest self is completely off the rails. I love digging deep into the soul to discover what we’re really made of, then finding a way to express that consciousness.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

We need to stop thinking that art should be cheap because it looks fun. The artists who perform during halftime at the multi-billon-dollar Super Bowl barely break even, and some don’t get paid.

I have a friend who is a songwriter with a ubiquitous hit song, but she lives paycheck to paycheck. She’s the hardest working person I know. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been apologized to while being handed a paycheck. Art is a bottom-of-the-heap budget item for most organizations. Even art organizations.

Bottom line, this country dumps heaps of money into military pursuits, diabolical pharmaceuticals, and regurgitated art in the name of safety, health, and entertainment. Be we aren’t that safe, and we aren’t that healthy, and we aren’t that inspired. So knock it off. Let’s take major steps toward tax, health, and education reform. This place could be paradise. The ability to chase your heart’s desire without the fear of going broke or paying for a broken bone is within reach. Never underestimate the power of a good boycott.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

So many. Let’s just start with Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech at University of the Arts. Jerry Saltz’s book How to be an Artist. Nina Simone performing live at the Harlem Cultural Festival. Creating True Prosperity by Shakti Gawain. “If” by Rudyard Kipling. The wild life of private investigator David Sullivan, as chronicled by Nathaniel Rich for Harper’s in “The Man Who Saves You from Yourself.” Eye-patched journalist Marie Colvin. The journals of Dan Eldon. The life and poetry of Elinor Wylie. The picture book What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Mae Besom.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ep-s.com
• Instagram: @eleanorperrysmith

Image Credits
John Moore From the Hip Photo Kevin Janowiak Cam Parsons Photography