Influences

To start off, I wouldn’t be writing if it weren’t for my brother. From as young as I can remember Kris made it cool to write. He writes some of the most innovative verse I read, and I’d be dishonest to say I haven’t tried more than once to imitate his art directly (“Heretic Grin” was my most recent attempt, and if I could get the formatting right and make it a bit more concrete it’d be my best effort yet). I’m hoping he starts a blog of his own, but till then, you’ll have to take my word on this one.

Number two influence is a tie between Charles Bukowski and Pablo Neruda. I read these two poets any chance I get. There’s an unparalleled honesty in both of these men’s work, something I strive for every time I write. I’ve never connected with romantic verse the way I have with Neruda’s, and it’s worth the effort to translate from the original Spanish, but the translations I’ve read were apparently done by a very good friend of his, so they’re extremely faithful to the original vision. If you haven’t read either of these poets, stop wasting time on my page and hit the library.

Beyond these three, my traveling life over the past four years has given me a perspective on this world and humanity that’s been worth all the hardship. I grew up in a small town in northern Georgia, and it’s all too easy to think that’s all there is to the world. You spend a while traveling, though, and suddenly you’ll realize just how different and identical we all are, at least here in America. Also I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of immigrants, and hearing their stories in the language they dream in is what made me want to learn what little Spanish I know in the first place.

After that it’s all music. Of late it’s been nothing but the Hold Steady, and any of you Unified Scene folks will see that plain as day. Here soon I plan to start a  music blog and review my favorite bands and albums, and there you’ll learn exactly what songs get scratched in to my soul. Five points if you catch the lyrical reference there.