Poetry and Writing

At 15 years old, I started down this unusual, winding path to become a writer. Unbeknownst to me, being a writer really meant working full time and writing when you have time.  And those times were and are the best times of my life. A number of things happened along this crazy path. I won a couple of awards, I got published in journal;s across the US and Europe and I was able to self publish a number of my own chapbooks. In 2003, I self published my first full length book of poetry – “Mayhem”. It was a big deal for me, and it sold relatively well. Regardless of sales, just being able to publish the book was a major deal to me, and a personal dream come tue.

A number of things happened to shape and form the writer I would become. The first was meeting Henry Rollins when I was 16. Rollins was and is one of my heros. His poems gave me comfort in some of my darkest times and would inspire me to do the same for others. His message of relating to people on a very personal level has been the foundation of my writing. Letting people know that they are not alone.

After high school I began corresponding with Humberto Gomez – he called me “a writer that writes from within, honest”. Humberto is an accomplished Latin American poet and he took me into his world with open arms. He encouraged me to use my own voice, publish my own books and be my own writer. His daugther Roxanna and their community of poets and writers allowed me the honor of sitting with them for a summer to BBQ, write, drink beer, smoke cigarettes, go to art shows and really – get in touch with a way of living I had never been into before. They are all TRUE artists and to this day, I reflect on that summer as some of the best memories of my life and most growth I experienced as a writer and as an individual. I will never be able to repay Roxanna and Humberto for all they gave to me.

One night while half drunk in my apartment, I picked up the small book “Howl” by Alan Ginsburg. I was transformed. Ginsburg quickly became my most revered writer. He wrote with such intensity and fluid imagary – and that poem would inspire the Lamnet series I would later write and so many other works that would go on to be published and win awards. Ginburg, Paz, Rilke and other free verse types of writers would go on to create a new way of expressing myself.

To this day, I still turn to all of these influences for inspiration and guidance. All though I am not currently seeking publication for my poetry or am doing any poetry readings – I still write almost daily. As Bukowski once said called it, “the word”, once it is in you, it will always be a part of you.

Writing saved my life in my early years and still continues to this day…the goal is still the same- give you something that you can relate to.

For poetry readings and other events, I can be contacted at 310-427-7805 or Chris@SoulurfMedia.com