Effie Waller Smith (1879 - 1960) - Pike County , Kentucky, on January 6, 1879. Ms. Smith began writing at the age of sixteen. She preferred traditional poetry in the manner of Tennyson and Longfellow and that stylistic preference was evident in her writing style. Effie Waller Smith attended Kentucky Normal School for Colored Persons in Frankfort (now Kentucky State University) from 1900-1901. Despite her short scholastic education, Ms. Smith’s captivated her readers. During her prolific writing career, Effie Waller Smith authored three books of poetry that achieved notoriety despite the challenges of racial adversity. The titles of these books of poetry were: “Songs of the Months” (1904), “Rhymes from the Cumberland” (1909), and “Rosemary and Pansies” (1909). In addition, seven of her works were published in major American literary magazines between 1908 and 1917. Ms. Smith abruptly stopped writing (or she at least stopped publishing her writing) after her work “Autumn Winds” was published in the 1917 September edition of Harper’s Monthly.