PUBLICATIONS

THE FULL STORY

Why I Write

I began writing poems when I was 12 years old. Most of my initial work had the goal of impressing girls, which ultimately failed because I found myself writing towards the goal rather than for them. Thankfully, my luck improved as I grew more mature. 

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And as my work evolved into sparring ethical debates over current events and philosophical ideologies, my quest to find others to join in my debates began. I co-founded the spoken word poetry club at Carlsbad High School. Only two people showed up to the first meeting: my co-founder Amanda Fields and myself. 

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Over several months of urging our community to join us, we were able to assemble a group of dedicated poets to learn and perform each week at our open-mic style meetings. Eventually, we wondered if there were more of us out there, and InVerse was formed.

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InVerse is a non-profit collective of spoken word poetry clubs from high schools across Southern California. Together, we published two anthologies and earned our way into local publications for our emotions made literate on the page.

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I went on to publish my own anthology Darling and collaborate with Polina Past in Everything Missing. Our work for the community got the attention of the high school, which led to the Graduation Speech I gave in honor of the poetic form. 

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That summer after graduating, I saw my poems published in the Magee Park Poets anthology and the San Diego Poetry Annual. My contribution in MPP appeared after Prof. Sam Hamod, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Now, I've come full circle in bringing the little-kid imaginative storytelling to a level only achieved through music.