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Member Spotlight for the Month of June 2004 - Andrew S Adams

Andrew S AdamsAndrew Adams was born in February 1986 in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN. He describes his early life as "dull", but he remembers starting his writing career at age six or seven, when he wrote his first poem, "the egocentrically-titled ‘andrew adams by andrew adams’." Recognizing this early talent, his teachers encouraged him, and he wrote until the 5th grade, then took a hiatus until 8th grade when he hit the "i’m-so-angsty-gotta-write-about-it" phase. Both this "standard mid-teenage blues" phase, and his discovery of the website Poesie.com, inspired this return to writing. Soon after, though, at the suggestion of fellow member Chris Sorrenti, he joined pathetic.org, and "grew so much from being around all these great writers here," like Aiko Scott, Kerilynn Thomas, and Benjamin Christian Parmer, just to name three.

Andrew describes his present life as "low-stress," with a good family and average grades in school. "I go to school in a place where there's high pressure to become a highly paid professional of some sort. I don’t really see myself in that jive, though." His career goals are still undecided, but he says he enjoys English, art and social studies, particularly psychology. He recently joined the staff of his high school literary magazine, Images, and had his first three publications there. He also says, "I’m in a band, sort of." He is the lyricist, while the other members usually compose the music, but lately he has been spending time in his basement with a drum machine and synthesizers, composing tunes which he gives his bandmates to work on. Musically, he cites Radiohead as a big influence (hence his moniker, "Kid A"). He says he writes a lot while listening to them.

When asked which poets he most enjoyed and admired (in class or on his own), he had this to say:

"A lot of the poetry that I had to read in school was in-depth analysis of specific poems - and sometimes, it was annoying to be surrounded with other people’s meanings inflected onto the poem I was reading - but, outside of school, I really started reading some amazing stuff to get away from that," Andrew says. "As childish as it may be, my favorite poet has always been Shel Silverstein. Where the Sidewalk Ends sparked my interest for poetry - and even when I go back and read some of the poems now, I just read them and realize how simple but how wonderful they can be. Besides that, I tend to enjoy Billy Collins' style. I guess I would identify with that (although I wish I could write as well!) - he has a very casual style that I admire. I also dig Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Kerouac, and other beatniks. And, just for good measure (and to throw a classic in there), I'm a sucker for Robert Frost." Andrew also cited Edgar Allan Poe as a major influence.

Andrew has been an active and prolific member of the site, with over 500 postings in his library. He’s also a member of three forum circles, and was a frequent monthly finalist in Pathetic’s year-long Teen Patron poetry contest. With his easy-going, self-effacing, yet sometimes cheeky style and sense of humor, he’s a pleasure to know, both as a poet and a person, and an asset to our community.

The following is a list of the highlights of Andrew S Adams's poetry:

Author: Bruce W Niedt

The member spotlighted in this month's "Member Spotlight" is chosen by the pathetic.org Spotlight committee, which is made up of a small group of site patrons and administrators. Each month a member is selected for this privilege based upon contributions to pathetic.org and the quality of work.

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