ARTIST'S MISSION
Although the notion that an artist can produce in a myriad of media applies most easily to the Renaissance, I think there have always been creative people who arrive at various outlets of production. And this era of ours, with its push toward open-mindedness, and buttressed by an amazing array of new technologies, allows artists to dedicate themselves to a more varied range of work, and reach wider and more diverse audiences, than ever before.
And while I consider myself, primarily a poet and a writer, I have warmly surrendered to my other creative impulses as well. From my earliest years, I have always had an interest in the classics and classicism, while having a parallel – not opposite – interest in the digital tools of production and promotion. My work – in whatever medium – seems to always be a bridge between the tradition and the trend.
THE WILD SONNETS | POETRY
As a writer, I have always been interested in the sonnet, while being equally intrigued with the notion that certain great poets either created or claimed a variation of the form as their own. In 2015, I decided to pull together some of the stylistic tendencies of my own work, and fashion them into a version of the sonnet that was distinctly mine.
Since then, I have written over 200 Wild Sonnets, which I have published into two volumes of 100 each, and supplemented with a digital edition that includes all the poems currently in print. I also leverage social media to present a selection of the poems on an almost daily basis – most notably, Instagram, where I frequently post the poems in rotation, and add new entries when I think they are ready for an audience.
I write 2-3 new Wild Sonnets every week – and plan to continue the project as long as life, breath and my own wild mind allow.
NIKOLAI 9 | MUSIC
I have enjoyed dance and electronic music since my teens, and started diving into producing my own tracks in 2008. Nikolai 9 is the current incarnation of my labors in the world of groove – and I produce two audio projects under its sonic umbrella, related in sound but different in scope.
The first are the snack-sized pop tracks, which I post to the litany of streaming sites now available: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Play, Tidal, etc. I also make these available for sync and music licensing to various digital and broadcast media.
The second are The Groove Symphonies, which are larger works that follow the structure and size of the classical four-movement symphony, but use the tools and instruments of pop, EDM, techno, funk and rock. These are only available on this site.