Introducing...My Brilliant Friends

Well, it turns out Ed isn't the only one who reads this here blog...And not because they read this, but because they are amazing and inspiring artists, I'd like to encourage you to check out the blogs/work of three of my friends.

Kate Wyer and I met during our MFA program at the University of Baltimore. She is a prolific and beautiful writer (and also funny). Actually, she's one of my favorites, and is already making a name for herself in beastly Baltimore and beyond. Check out her blog for some seriously honest and lovely writing: http://www.movingsidewalks.blogspot.com/

Silvia de la Pena and I also met in our MFA program back in Bal'more, although she has since escaped to her home state of California. Silvia is a poet who has the wittiest (is this a word?) of wits. Her poems are poignant, bittersweet and sometimes sarcastic. You can look inside her mind and be entertained by her stories and by videos on her blog: http://silviaville.blogspot.com/

Last, but not least, is Evan LaPorte. Evan and I met 18 years ago(!) in french class when we were fifteen. His parents had sent him to check out the dreaded St Bernard's high school for the day. He sat across the room from me and looked seriously pissed off. I knew exactly how he felt, as a few months earlier, my parents had sent me to do the same exact thing, resulting in me being forced to leave my public high school half-way through the year in order to attend a crazy Catholic school, but that's another story. Evan looked just as unhappy about his prospects as I had felt--I had to smile at him. Thus began the friendship of Evan and Jenn, which led to us being locker partners and prom dates and friends and enemies and friends once again. Back then, Evan used to do graffiti art under bridges in Fitchburg and did really well in art class (unlike myself, who used the oppurtunity to make pipes out of clay). After high school, he went on to art school and low and behold, has become an absolutely amazing painter!! Check out his work on his blog: http://stateofpaint.blogspot.com/