B.A. - English Literature, French, International Studies, Davidson College, 2008
M.F.A. - Creative Writing, Poetry, University of Florida, 2017
I’m a Florida-born poet, artist, songwriter, teacher, and freelance design writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. My work is focused on understanding intervals and relationships— finding connections where previously (we believed) there were none. I’m interested in visual language and the way image-making relates to our understanding of time.
I earned my MFA in poetry from the University of Florida, where I was the 2017 artist-in-residence at the Austin Cary Memorial Forest, studying longleaf pines and their remarkable ability to thrive in fire. In 2019, I served as the first Steve Kemp Writer-in-Residence through the Great Smoky Mountains Association, where I worked to promote awareness of the park's biodiversity through poetry and journaling workshops.
My design writing appears regularly in Architectural Digest Pro and Metropolis Magazine. My poetry, fiction, and environmental writing have been featured in The Healing Muse, The Oakland Review, Quick Fiction, Hobart, The Southern Florida Poetry Journal, 491 Magazine, The Scapegoat Review, Treehouse Magazine, Smokies Life, Grasslimb Journal, Charlotte Viewpoint, WUFT.org, Hearty Magazine, and others.
I’ve taught creative writing workshops at Vanderbilt University, The University of Florida, The Great Smoky Mountains Association, Nashville School of the Arts, and The Porch Literary Collective.
I also write and perform music as WHEATS and previously fronted NC punk act Brain F. You can find art , music, and touring info at wheatsmusic.com.
Photo by Glen Lindquist
Photo by Emily April Allen
I’m a poet, songwriter, freelance design writer, artist, and teacher. I like to explore this world by following the questions that most fascinate me: What is time? Why are we here? How do humans fit into the grander scheme of things on earth? Why are we so compelled to create things? And what do the things we create bring to our lives? Is it all about beauty, or is there more to it?
I find joy in connecting whatever disparate threads intrigue me, then sharing those connections through one of many vital creative outlets I’ve collected and taught to others over the years. In addition to my freelance career covering a range of art, design, architecture, and nature stories, I visit classrooms, conferences, and other spaces to lead workshops like Modern Sonnets and Zine-Making 101.
Most of the time, I am trying to figure out why we are all here. My fiction and poetry reflect on relationships in the natural world through the sensory details that make up everyday human interactions.
I like poems that hide their rhymes inside the lines and don’t get too flashy at the edges. My poems tend to be brick-worded; I like the complexity to be there in spirit, not in vocabulary.
My art and design writing focuses on exploring new forms, styles, and formats for living, bringing together disparate threads to create a larger, more complex picture of the spaces we inhabit.
