Sylvia Woods taught high school English in East Tennessee for forty-three years. She is a native of Clay County in Eastern Kentucky where her ancestors have lived for over two hundred years. Her poems have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies including Appalachian Journal, Calliope, Centrifugal Eye, Tennessee English Journal, and in multiple editions of MotesBooks’ Motif anthology series. Woods' first full-length collection, What We Take With Us was published in April 2021 by EastOver Press.