Stedmond Ware says he has always had a passion for writing poetry.
The Greenwood native recently published his first collection of poems, “Mosaic Journey: Pieces to Me.”
“I started writing poetry in high school,” he said. “It’s always been something that I have loved to do. ... I never knew that it would branch out into this.”
The book includes 22 poems, which are divided into three sections — “Once upon a time when we were young,” “Love found us in unexpected places” and “Now we are learning to live.”
“A lot of my poetry is about my life in the Delta, my family and the architecture of the Delta and what it means to me and using that to inspire others,” said Ware.
Ware, 27, recently moved from Cleveland to Kansas City, Missouri, to accept a job promotion.
He is a graduate of Greenwood High School and Mississippi State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
After college, he participated in AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America). Following a year of service at Mississippi State, he took a position as project coordinator for the Mississippi Delta region of AmeriCorps VISTA based at Delta State University.
He is now employed as a program officer of AmeriCorps VISTA and Senior Corps in the Kansas and Missouri state offices for the Corporation of National & Community Service.
Ware is also a member of the Mississippi Poetry Society, and his work was published in the 2013 and the 2016 contest edition of the Mississippi Poetry Journal.
He said he began working on some of his poems in “Mosaic Journey” when he was still in high school, but most he composed during a six-month period before publishing.
“Many of the poems were inspired by people who I know, whether in Mississippi or people I have met throughout my life,” he said.
Ware said the book’s theme is reflected in its title. He compared life to mosaic art, in which “different pieces of glass come together to make something beautiful.”
“‘Mosaic’ was to represent so many different periods of my life,” Ware said. “This book is an extension of myself and the people who have helped make me who I am.”
Ware starts “Mosaic Journey” with a poem called “Delta Soil,” which he said was inspired by his grandfather, who was a Greenwood-area farmer for 40 years.
“That poem talks about the soil, which gives us life, but we don’t always treasure it like we should,” he said.
Ware said he hopes that readers will be able to connect with his journey.
“I hope that people will be able to find themselves in the pages and find something they can latch on to and hopefully remind them of themselves and see themselves in a different way — not just as a person but as a work of art,” he said.
He also hopes that his book will inspire others, especially aspiring writers, to pursue their dreams actively.
“I would say that the only difference between a writer and everyone else is that writers write it down and put their thoughts to work,” Ware said. “If it’s something you want to do, endeavor to persevere.”
Although he no longer lives in Mississippi, Ware plans to continue writing and serve as an advocate for his home state.
“I want to make sure people know our connection with art and all the wonderful things that come from Mississippi,” he said.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
