Tharaha Grant discovered her poetry skills and hopes to publish her poems one day. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

She leaned back in her chair, eyes beaming with enthusiasm. Her voice is silky smooth, the words rolling off her tongue. Her aspiration? To become a great poet.

Tharaha Grant grew up in the Stony Hill area of St Andrew, and is the youngest of 11 children.

"I was schooled at Oberlin High and graduated in 1995," she told The Gleaner in recounting her earlier years. "I failed a couple subjects. That didn't stop me though. I practised and worked on my own. I eventually got them and I have been steadily growing since then."

Grant is now an investment officer with Prime Asset Management.

Hobby of choice

Now 31 and the mother of a five-year-old boy, she has started to invest time and energy in her hobby of choice, poetry.

She can write complete poems in minutes. It is a skill she knew very little about until recently. Her ability came to the fore over the Christmas holidays when she wrote a poem for a Boxing Day dinner at her aunt's house. Her sister loved it and encouraged her to write more.

"We were doing some pixie gift exchange at the office and we decided to get creative, add a little love note to the gift. I got very poetic, a few employees got a chance to read what I had written, and they loved it," she said.

With fellow employees and her sister behind her, Grant started writing every time she got the chance.

Over the past three months, she has written more than 35 pieces and continues to add to her catalogue each day.

Grant is hoping her writings will get noticed.

"Maybe one day I can compile all my writings and give birth to a book of poetry," she said.