I realized I had both an attraction to and deep understanding of the literary world upon entering my teen years. I believe this was brought on by the thought provoking lyrics and poetry of Jim Morrison. Morrison’s interest in such philosophical writers as Nietzsche, Huxley, and Becket sparked my interest as well. Perhaps something could be said about becoming a word man?
I learned to type on a manual typewriter in seminary school and excelled in composition. Language became my friend and sometimes enemy as I tried to develop my own voice as a poet. I sought inspiration from those who came before me by the likes of Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams and Carl Sandburg . I was awe struck by the life and works of Dylan Thomas. It was not long before I began submitting my own verse to contests and free press publications. My efforts were met with positive reinforcement.
As high school graduation approached, I found myself at an art school in Providence which sent me to study at Brown University. I was asked back following graduation to tutor and teach my own course in contemporary poetry. At this time, I was also freelancing for two Rhode Island Newspapers, writing both entertainment and business articles.
These were very formative years and I found Providence to be a cultural Mecca to expand my craft. My fondness of existential literature had taken over and by the time I reached college, I had read most of the works of Sartre’, Kafka and Camus.
Following college, I was involved with a coffee house in Downtown Providence known as AS220. Here, I helped up and coming artists get Pell Grants as well as creating performance art pieces. I was still writing and submitting but much more involved in the exploration of life. I read up on the Beat authors and Kerouac became my hero for his spontanious prose style of writing. Friends told me my stories sounded like Hunter S. Thompson.
In the late 1990s, the Internet began to emerge. I saw a great opportunity to couple words with pictures in order to tell a story in a new way. I taught myself Web design, moved to Florida and worked for the Tampa Tribune for two years. I left to pursue a job with WFTS ABC in what was becoming the "new media" field.
At first, I edited content for ABC Action News, but before long I had my own weekly entertainment feature. I wrote news copy for ABC for almost eight years working with both creative services and advertising and eventually became Web Master of the station’s Web site. Following a site re-design, I was awarded an SPJ (Society of Professional Journalism) Sunshine State Award for best news Web site in Florida. I decided to leave ABC on a high note and start my own company pursuing various Internet ventures.
I currently consult on Web content while freelancing for LOLA Magazine in Pasco County, Florida. I have a two-year-old son who is named Dylan after the poet Dylan Thomas.
