I was born in Springfied, but raised in Kenton, Ohio.
The major influence in my life is and will always be my wife, Lynn...my muse.
Without her support and occasional kick in the butt, I would never have seriously followed my dream.
Lynn and I are both native Buckeyes...she is from Cleveland...big city girl!
Writing has been a part of me as far back as I can remember.
I can and do write fiction and hard news, but it is poetry that gives me the biggest rush.
There is a joy in creating a piece of verse with layers of meaning and rhythm, that is simply grand.
Although most of my work is written in free verse, I am thoroughly entertained by the variety of different forms that poetry can take.
My favorite anaology is liking poets to painters....trying new shades, new mediums... I believe if more teachers in high school taught poetry with the purpose of showing kids the variety, that poetry would be much more popular in this culture.
There are so many forms...some old and classic...some brand new....that there is little doubt in my mind that if one looks long enough, they well find a form or forms that fits them.
I know that many contemporary poets do not like forms...they consider them restricting...say they stifle creative expression...
I would argue that.
The study of forms...playing with them...experimenting with them, has not only given me a better appreciation for poetry...but has made both my free verse and my fiction writing better.
My writings, both verse and fiction range across a while spectrum...everything from humor to erotica.
The poets who have had the most influence on me are Frost, Dickinson, Blake, Keats, Yeats, Pound, Neruda, Kerouac and Shakespeare.
My ten years as a Marine, including the Vietnam experience were also a major influence.
My book, Through Smoked Glass is directly related to those times.
As an humorous sidebar, I majored in Vocational Horticultrue out of high school...and believe me, I have heard it all..."So, you are a combat Marine who likes to grow flowers, eh?"
What can I say, I have always been close to nature...half jokingly, I often refer to myself as a neodruid.

                                   

Birth Place: Springfield, OH USA

Accomplishments: I am a Marine Vietnam veteran, published author and poet. I have two writing awards from the Combat Correspondents Association for Best News Feature and Best News Story.
My first book , "Through Smoked Glass" was published in Aug. 2002.
My second book, Cascades (ISBN 1413783090) was published Aug. 2005
Conjunctions of Invisible Breath, co-authored with Myrna D. Badgerow was released, May 2008.
In addition, I have published extensively in various print and electronic publications, such as Ribbons, Mississippi Crow, Niederngasse, The CA Quarterly, Poet's Ink, Poet’s Corner, Voice Magazine, The Circle, Bound (a Grey Book Press Journal), The Florida Villager, Apples & Oranges Poetry Magazine, The Sidewalk’s End, millenniumshift, Erotic Tales, and poeticdiversity.
I have been honored by being chosen as May, 2006 Poet of the Month at Starlite Cafe and September, 2006 Poet of the Month at The Writing Forum.
I am also the creator of the poetry forms, the Soliloquy, Storyteller, Thick Haiku, Tankabun and Nocturne 1-4-3. Examples of these can be found in my posted poetry at this site.
If you would like info on the forms, feel free to drop me a message.

Viper's Vietnam Veteran Page
This link is to A Namvets Poems part of Viper's site, one of the best Vietnam veteran sites on the internet.

My wife and I publish a literary newsletter, Distant Echoes. More info and the guidelines can be found under my articles...or you can drop me a message...I love getting messages. Do to illness and injury, this publication this publication has temporarily been put on hold.