I've lived most of my life in Cumberland, Rhode Island. As a child I wrote little stories now and again, but they never amounted to much. In school, I resented being force fed the supposedly great works of poets such as Shakespeare, but gradually found my own way to break into the literary world, primarily through the work of Beat writers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs and later on discovered the raw, street poetry of Charles Bukowski. The raw words of these visionaries lit a fire in me and ushered me into a universe of previously unknown thought and feeling. From these pioneers I traced my way back in time to such legendary giants of the word such as Walt Whitman and Arthur Rimbaud and then made my way into the dazzling world of Henry Miller. Music's always been a crucial part of my creativity and artists such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith and Jim Carroll, in addition to countless others continue to influence me with their seamless merging of the written word with the transcendent power of music.
In April 2015, after years of stockpiling poems, I self-published my debut book of poetry, Nightingale Blues. That December, seeing I had enough poems to fill another, longer book, I released my second poetry book, Standing in the Shadows of Giants. Since then I've been doing poetry readings here and there, most notably at the wonderful Second Stage Studio right here on Angell Road in Cumberland. This April, in honor of National Poetry Month, I'll be releasing my third volume of poetry, Weapons of Mass Distraction.
In April 2015, after years of stockpiling poems, I self-published my debut book of poetry, Nightingale Blues. That December, seeing I had enough poems to fill another, longer book, I released my second poetry book, Standing in the Shadows of Giants. Since then I've been doing poetry readings here and there, most notably at the wonderful Second Stage Studio right here on Angell Road in Cumberland. This April, in honor of National Poetry Month, I'll be releasing my third volume of poetry, Weapons of Mass Distraction.