When I was in college, maybe my sophomore year, I took a lot of creative writing courses and really had an interest in music, too. Lauren Hill Unplugged was probably one album that listening to I really got into and wanted to start writing after that. Everything I learned in school I would try to put into my writing as well as personal experiences and I've had a lot of fun with it. I spend a lot of time paying attention to what's around me. A lot of times it will come from something that I'll see in the news. I watch a lot of TED Talks online so I'm always brainstorming. I've always been kind of a quiet guy so it's just a way to process thoughts. Do you recite your work?

I started reciting some of it on a whim on a coffee night at a church that I was going to a while back. I went to that and performed some stuff and got a good response and starting doing it more at different colleges and coffee shops. The first time was pretty nerve-racking. I was sitting down

Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle