Studied creative writing (poetry) at university, which led to some multi-media performance in Ann Arbor and Chicago. For the last seven or eight years I've been writing for myself, not performing my stuff or even showing it to people... I guess I've been on hiatus as a "Poet," and stuffing my poems away. Lately, I've been going to some readings here in the city, and I'm getting urges to put some of my stuff out there. I would love to meet some other poets or readers, to trade critiques with--- and really just enjoy writing with. Major influences have been Richard Brautigan, Walt Whitman, Anais Nin, e.e. cummings, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Diane Di Prima, Truman Capote. As a young writer I was blown away by Joni Mitchel and Leonard Cohen, Tennessee Williams, Andy Warhol, the Beats, A.A Milne, J.D. Salinger. Later was obsessed with Yoko Ono, Ron Aethy, Bill viola, Moriko Mori, Ann Magnuson, Leigh Bowery and groups like Redmoon Puppet Company, Bread and Puppet, Radical Faeries. I write to try to reach a synthesis of senses-- I enjoy poetry because it often distills an expansive or indescribable thought/vision/experience/emotion into something small and potent-- a lingual communication as akin to a photograph (worth 1000 words) as you can get. It can also allow you to crawl into someone's else's skin and broaden your perspectives. I also have always been frustrated by the limits of language, and love the challenge of smithing words to strive toward a more exact means of communication. Reading and writing poetry makes me look at, appreciate and learn from the world and the people in it. I guess this is really what motivates me to write, and in so doing encourage others to live more fully as well. I've been too insular with this part of me these last few years and am hoping that a poem or two that I have written during this time will be enjoyed by someone other than myself...

I have a BA in creative writing (for what it's worth). Last time a poem of mine was published was 1994/1995-- I've only been published in small press anthologies, chapbooks and zines in late 80's, early 90's. A lot of my stuff was used in performance pieces in bars, clubs, and art galleries in Chicago, Ann Arbor and Detroit-- involving bullwhips and jump ropes and giant cock lollipops and shadow puppets and pornography and opaque projectors and paper dolls and nudity and fire breathing and often a little bit of chaos-- someitmes I was awarded money, sometimes I was just awarded bottomless pints of beer-- lots of great. I worked with a lot of creative people, shared and learned a lot, and grew as a writer through it all.