MANDI J SMITH website & portfolio
Published Work & Creative Writing
Writing has always been a vital part of my creative work.
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Here you'll find writing samples from my time at The Methow Valley News, where I worked as a columnist, reporter, and photographer. I’ve also written sales and marketing copy for my photography and baking businesses, and I share original creative writing—including poetry, songwriting, and spoken word.
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Below you'll find samples of my lyrical work, including “The Could’ve Been Story,” a bittersweet ballad about liberation, and two poems: the raw, spoken-word grit of “Starting Over” and the mythic, transformational power of “Wondrous, I.”
01
Rarified Atosphere
A feature about two young men, Seth Keena and Mark Allen, completing a fateful and serendipitous ice climb up Goat Wall. This article won Best Sports Feature Story at The WNPA (Washington Newspaper Publishers Association) Awards.
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https://methowvalleynews.com/2017/01/26/rarified-atmosphere/
02
A Cut Above
A feature article on Thomson’s Meats, a beloved family-run butcher shop in the Methow Valley preparing to retire after decades of service. Published in Made in the Methow magazine, Winter 2021 edition (pp. 8–11).
https://issuu.com/methowvalleypublishing/docs/2017_madeinmethow
03
September 14, 2016 column
A goodbye column turned sitcom-style tribute to the quirky, lovable crew behind the scenes at the Mazama Store bakery. From sea salt crack bread to burned bagels and Gruyere grit, it’s a heartfelt homage to friendship, flour, and the co-workers we come to call family.
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https://methowvalleynews.com/2016/09/15/mazama-september-14-2016/
04
April 5, 2017 column
A heartfelt weekly column about 17-year-old Eli Nielsen, a local student-athlete who represented the U.S. at the World Youth & Junior Championship biathlon competition — and what it really means to be the “real deal.”
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https://methowvalleynews.com/2017/04/07/mazama-april-5-2017/
05
Adventure and comfort will be served up at new Twisp eatery
A flavorful feature on Local Blend, a new Twisp restaurant dishing up global comfort food with zero pretension. From the chef’s East Coast roots and culinary influences to his mission of bold flavors and genuine hospitality, this profile explores how a dream simmered over decades finally comes to life.
https://methowvalleynews.com/2017/08/20/adventure-and-comfort-will-be-served-up-at-new-twisp-eatery/
08
March 15, 2017 column
The controversial topic of reintroducing grizzlies into the North Cascades was on everyone’s lips this week—even the animals. This lighthearted satire imagines a wildlife town hall, where deer demand equal attention, cougars throw shade, and a Canadian grizzly shrugs it all off. A humorous take on a real debate.
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https://methowvalleynews.com/2017/03/17/mazama-march-15-2017/
Songwriting Sample
“The Could’ve Been Story”
Melody & Lyrics by Mandi J. Smith
A deeply personal, poetic anthem about release, resilience, and reclaiming your power.
Watch here:
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Beautiful— till the gray sky morning
Dutiful— like a foghorn warning
But I know, I know
It’s a bittersweet offering
To release all the control
And all of the suffering
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And I can be your villain, yeah I’ll play that part
But I will stay a rebel, sugaring my scars
Yeah I’ll be enigmatic
I’ll be your tragic
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And I can taste the madness from my bleeding heart
But I spit out the fever til the burn departs
Yeah I can be the magic
I’ll be the spark
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Basketful of springtime mercies
Worshipful call of the carefree
But I know, I know
The ache of the journey
Is the depth to which I grow
And the blessings made for me
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Now I can read the weather ‘fore it even starts
And I’ve got an umbrella for the falling shards
Yeah I’ll be the enchanted
I’ll be romantic
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And I can cross the oceans when the skies are dark
Cause I’ve lived through the shadow of my deepest parts
My eyes wide in amazement
For a brand new start
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In time it goes
In time it goes away
I drank the bottles
To shrink myself away
But through the wilderness
The winding death and bliss
Torn cartilage and risk
I earned my getaway
(Never meant to stay)
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Now I am the dreamer blazing with the stars
And I fashion my ashes into living art
Peace won’t leave me ever
I’m mine forever
And I can see the world from where I finally stand
And I’ll live out the dreams that once slipped through my hands
With each breath of my life
I’m more alive
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Invisible— you watch from the sidelines
Write me off, or write me in moonlight
But I know, I know
The Could’ve Been Story
Pages full of dreams
Laid to rest on the journey
It was never made for me…
I was always destined to be set free…
Starting Over
An original poem by Mandi J. Smith
Can you call it starting over
if you’ve done it a hundred sixty times before?
'Cause I swear it’s every Monday
there’s a new me at the door.
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It’s in every facet of my life—
it’s morning, noon, and night.
I fear that not a cell of me
will stay the same tonight.
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It’s all about relationships—
when love becomes the long con.
It’s all about the way I think—
dressing up bullshit with chiffon.
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It’s about my creativity—
I carry ideas like raccoon's disease.
Maybe an artistic vaccination
would put my bank account at ease.
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This masochistic transformation,
the phoenix burns until it rises,
wins the oohs and ahhs from looney-loos
with a new version that surprises.
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A stellium’s weight, a scorpion’s sting,
it’s a deathly transmutation.
Indeed, I do get off on it—
but I crave days of hibernation.
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I just want a little cabana
in Mexico by the sea,
where I can run wild under the moon
and have the means to finally be.
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Now that’s a fresh start I can get behind—
where I live a life that’s mine.
That fresh start—fingers crossed—
I won’t just write about all the time.