Behind the shattered mask…

I was born in Ardoyne, Belfast 29th October 1972. Youngest of a family of six. My Mother hails from Rathmines, Dublin and my Father is from Belfast. From an early age it was obvious I was different, emotionally odd and deep compared to many of my peers. I would swing wildly between craving attention and wanting to be alone, in many ways this continues, but due to upbringing and world exposure that’s just how it is.

I am extremely headstrong and self-righteous. Many regard these traits as being undesirable, but that is only the case if you’re trying to please people. I am here to publish books and to highlight the failings of a species who do not want to admit they have any failings. It’s tough work and quite thankless, but I feel utterly predisposed to do this.

Not being like others used to bother me when I was trying to fit into the world, but I am no longer attempting to conform. I realise that most people are insecure, so when they behave in an angry or jealous manner I don’t take it personally any more because I myself was and still am prone to extreme emotional responses. We all need to learn to live with pain: it’s part of life, so to expect happiness all the time is unrealistic. I don't know why I have been given this head but I have spent enough time trying to control it and trying to be the sort of person people would like, now I am just going to say things on the level they are required to be said.

By age 11 I got into hip hop; early stuff, Grandmaster Flash, World Class Wreckin' Cru, Run Dmc, Egyptian Lover, too extensive a list to continue, and by the time Public Enemy and N.W.A came along I was writing my own raps. In my early twenties poetry then became something I latched on to; the likes of Charles Bukowski, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and Raymond Carver among others. I thus began switching between formats and gradually have been merging genres in the last few years.

In 2005 my past and more notably the past of my fucked family caught up and I fell into disarray. From that date onwards I began writing furiously, trying to understand myself and the world around me.

People told me not to go too deep but it was too late. I went in, and after facing death and remaining alive I learned the greatest lesson that a person could learn, pure gratitude. This did however take time and may not yet be complete; every life is a process that must play to the end to be fully evaluated. The game continues in spite of us.

I won The All Ireland poetry slam title in Galway on 26th October 2009.

My first book entitled 'As seen through staggered eyes' will be published through Wild Wind Books release date is Friday 13th August 2010.