An Introduction To Me

Start here to acquaint yourself with me, my writing, and what I hope to achieve by publishing here.

This publication is for anyone looking for a broad range of content to consume. It is for those who appreciate my brand of poetry and writing, but who are not looking for a writer who only uses incomprehensible prose. Those who enjoy investigations into human nature, but who are not looking for someone lost in theory. Those who are interested in politics, but who are not looking for a commentator corrupted by ideology.

I’m very passionate about my writing and the ideas therein, and much of it will be posted here. My poetry, my political commentary, my fiction work, and my media analyses will all find their homes here. I hope you enjoy what you read.

My main hope for my artistic endeavours is that I am able to distill important concepts down into a form that is communicable to others. For example, in one of the first full poems I wrote, Starless Sea, I wanted to distill broad-reaching, complex, emotional themes into a form that others can read, understand, and feel. Second to that, probably, is just helping people enjoy reading! Who doesn’t enjoy reading a poem that makes them smile because of a silly rhyme, or one which makes them go “Oooo” when a particularly foreboding line gives them a shiver?

A primary goal in my life is to gain some understanding of what it means to be human. The complex web weaved throughout each of our lives tells a unique story; one filled with both the normal and the fantastic. An interrogation of why the mundane is mundane, of why the beautiful is beautiful, and of why the moral is moral, seems only necessary in the face of the simultaneously chaotically complex and astoundingly ordered universe which we find ourselves living in.

Apart from my artistic inclinations are my political musings. My father and his twin brother have both been politically involved as candidates for various levels of office both before I was born and during my life here and there, and I can see why they were. The desire to affect real change in a way that helps everyone move forward to a better tomorrow, as cheesy as it sounds, is at the heart of their personal motivations and political beliefs. I identify incredibly strongly with that sentiment and I relish the opportunity to act on it. Regardless of my own future in politics, if any, I certainly spend a lot of time thinking about political philosophy and political psychology, due to my pursuits in formal education, and perhaps as much time spent thinking about the machinations of our current political climate.

Living in Canada, it is apparent that the American political environment is incredibly relevant to our own. The United States are something of a sibling country to Canada, though the US is far more populous and culturally influential, and we have a long and generally cooperative and fruitful history. Unfortunately, many people project American politics onto Canadian politics far too severely, affecting their ability to read Canadian politics effectively. For example, many are not aware of, or are not interested in, the differences between the Canadian and American political systems, such as when they assume that the Canadian Prime Minister is essentially just a Canadian President. I intend to sift through the happenings of both American and Canadian politics, and to hopefully bring some clarity to those who are searching for it while maintaining a fair and level attitude. After all, I do not live by the creed of a particular party; I let my principles guide my decision making and analysis, and I will always attempt to be reasonable.

I believe that, at my core, I strive to be a communicator and an educator. My brand of communication and pedagogy runs on my desire to provide as many tools as possible to others in an attempt to help them build their critical thinking and analytical skills. I revile deception and wish to empower as many people as possible in as many ways as I am able.

Also, in the hopes that those who prefer consuming content in an audio form or those who are visually impaired can still easily access my work, I would like to upload an accompanying audio file with every text post. which will be a narration of that post by me. I’ll also be producing a newsletter, which I’m calling “News & Views”, where I find several news stories from the week that I found impactful and then discuss them. Each newsletter will also feature a picture or two that I’ve taken, hence the “Views”!

Come along for the ride that is my writing and analysis, and I’ll entertain you with a strong opinion or two.

Thank you for reading.

Pictured: Myself, my wonderful partner Michaela, and our biological cat Winter.