Metafiction is defined as: "fiction in which the author self-consciously alludes to the artificiality or literariness of a work by parodying or departing from novelistic conventions and traditional narrative techniques." It is my favorite genre of writing. Mostly because there is no limit to the amount of creativity that can be harnessed within. Also, its ability to both be affected by and its ability to affect the real world put it a step above traditional narrative writing. I am an author of several published pieces of metafictional text.

English Poetry From The Romantic Period (1798-1837)

At San Diego State University, I studied under Prof. Quentin Bailey who is a South-African Wordsworth Scholar. During my time studying Wordsworth, I became infatuated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge was a contemporary of Wordsworth during the Romantic Period and wrote amazing poems, my favorite being "Kubla Khan" which Coleridge wrote in sections throughout his short life. I respected Wordsworth for what he gave to English Literature but ultimately Coleridge and Shelley (another contemporary and husband of Mary Shelley) were far more interesting.

Dante's Divine Comedy

Staying on the subject of poetry, my favorite piece of literature in any form is The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. It is an Italian  epic poem that is about Dante traveling through hell, purgatory, and heaven in search of purity, God, and a woman named Beatrice. Dante is joined by Virgil, the poet who wrote The Aeneid, as he descends and ascends the different levels of the afterlife. Along the way, Dante meets with prominent historical/religious figures and figures connected to Dante's real-life exile from Florence in 1302. In my opinion, it is the greatest piece of writing ever created by a human being.

Ancient Egypt

Since I was a young boy I have been fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians and the culture they bestowed upon the world. As you can see in the pictures, I have been lucky enough to travel to Egypt and take in the sites and history for myself. It is an amazing place and simply Googling facts and images don't do it justice. My favorite pharoah is Akhnaten, my favorite god is Horus, my favorite goddess is Hathor, and my favorite area is Waset (which was named Thebes by the Greeks, and finally Luxor by the west). 

Alexander the Great

One of the other reasons I went to Egypt was because of my fascination with Alexander The Great. I have been enamored by Alexander's exploits since I was a child. I idolize him much as he idolized Achilles in Homer's The Iliad. His determination and willpower moved mountains and smashed cultural barriers that had been present for millennia. The Hellenistic Traditions and the splitting of his empire continue to influence the world thousands of years after his death. One of the biggest regrets I have in being born in the current age is that I never got to visit Alexander's tomb, where he lay in an alabaster sarcophagus, to pay my respects.

Hollywood in the 1920s

Growing up in Hollywood, I was also enamored by the Golden Age of the area. The movies and aesthetic of 1920s Hollywood left a lasting impression on my imagination. Being able, like Egypt, to experience the Art Deco architecture of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills in my youth was incredible. The silent films of that era are some of my favorite movies to watch.

Music

Music has played a vital role in my life. I have been playing guitar for almost 25 years. I have recorded hundreds of songs and performed several shows with various bands around San Diego. My favorite band of all time is Guns N' Roses. Growing up in Hollywood during the peak of their success influenced me to my core. Beyond Rock music, Rap and Hip Hop have also been a huge part of my life. 90's Los Angeles saw the rise of Gansta' Rap with several artists on Death Row Records and my being in the epicenter of it caused me to love it even more. Still, my favorite Hip Hop act are the Wu-Tang Clan who are from Staten Island, New York. Their songs combine samples from Soul/R&B hits of the 1970s with expertly academic rhyming verses that beg the listener to study. 

Miscellaneous