What prompted you to start writing?

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"I've been writing ever since I was a kid, so it's always been a part of my life. My sister's a poet, so that definitely contributed. I began seriously writing poetry about a yearish ago, once I started to recover from a lot of mental issues I'd been dealing with for a few years. Poetry was initially just a cathartic way to deal with my emotions, but then I began sharing it with others which made me want to improve. "

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How would you describe your style of poetry?

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 "Erratic, personal, honest."

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Who would you say influenced your style of writing ? If nobody, then who’s your top favorite writers/artists?

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 "Chen Chen is one of my biggest influences. He writes a lot of nostalgic, deeply personal work, while also keeping it obscure enough to relate to a wide audience. The way he puts descriptive phrases together that don't seem to make sense but somehow do is a technique I use often. Also, my sister is a poet and reading her work as a young teenager helped me gain the courage to start writing. I also adore Sufjan Steven's lyrics, his work also tends to evokes a sense of nostalgia and longing."

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I love Sufjan he's top tier! Okay so, what’s one thing (if anything) you hope people take away from your work? 

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"I think most poets want people to feel seen in their work. I want people to relate to what I write, of course. But I also want people to look at it as a piece of art, not simply an extension of my own emotions. Because in a way my poetry is just that, but it's also far more work than just writing down what I feel on a document.

I would also hope that people read my poems and feel left with a sense of wonder, and maybe even confusion. After reading my work, I want people to realize that deeply personal work is not always easily understood."

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I think that’s absolutely lovely. So here we have a wild card, let's say you have 3 minutes to talk to the supposed creator of the universe. What do you ask them?

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"I'd ask if I've been doing anything right. If everything I've taken as "signs" are really signs. If repeating numbers really mean anything and if feral cats and foxes are actually guides or if I've been following random wild animals all this time for nothing. What do mushrooms know that we don't? Does the moon really love me? Does the lake know I miss it? &, finally, will I remember you? "

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A fine answer if i ever heard one. What do you do when you feel uninspired?

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"Honestly, I'm going through a bit of writer's block at the moment, so currently I've started on a painting. I tend to just wait it out for a few days and then I can get back to writing again. And in the "waiting it out" period, I try to work on other creative hobbies I have, like painting and collaging, so once I'm back to writing I'm still in that sort of creative mindset." 

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Sounds like a lot of fun. Okay so this will be the last question. It doesn't necessarily have to be romantic but: What do you love?

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"I love houseplants, walks around my neighborhood, taking naps with my girlfriend, hugging my friends, and oddly shaped candles."

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