Donato DiCristino passed away on April 19th, 2014. Below are his own words: The first book that changed my life was Catcher in the Rye but reading seemed a chore rather than a hobby until 2003, when I finally read Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel. I read it in two days and by the end of that week I finished reading her addiction memoir More, Now Again. Her writing not only feels relatable but it taught me so much about writing. She is brilliant. Heavily influenced by music. When I was younger I was a singer. I played the piano and trumpet, was accepted into the Philadelphia high school for Creative and Performing arts. I later transferred to Girard Academic Music Program where I studied music theory, particularly enjoying the semester on percussion and rhythm patterns. Rhyming came naturally to me but those intense classes still influence my poetry. When I listen to music I prefer there to be lyrics and cannot bear top forty radio with the repetitiousness that drives the current pop landscape. I published my first book in May of 2003. During the following six years I guess you can say I did my fair share of research into the hearts and minds of the people I loved; diving head first into the lives of some that failed to love me, others who failed at loving me and those oh so special few who mastered the art of both. I chose to turn my heartbreak into song. I learned to transform my sadness into learning. I failed a lot of the time but never failed to rise again from the ashes, the cries and lows.  The stones that were thrown with malice are the tools I used to mute the mocking fools and climb out of the mess that festers deep inside but failed to keep me down. To many I may have seemed shattered. In truth I was in shock and completely shaken to my core. In retrospect, I will always feel divided, difficult and hard to read yet full of love fueled by an undefeated dream. My restored faith anew, a walk of progress down the road of me.   

Original Books of Creative Nonfiction: The Threads of Life, Saving The Liar (Colors Reflected), Louder Than Bombs (Reinventing Progress), The Dragon's Tongue (Tiny Tails) & Compound Delusions: The Rise and Fall of our Design.

Retrospective Anthology: Paging_Changes (Stories of the Sadness; Stories of the Glee)