I was born in Covington, Kentucky in 1948, and was brought up in abject poverty in Cincinnati, Ohio, until I left for good at the age of 19 in 1967. I joined the U.S. Air Force during the Viet Nam war to escape. After a stint in the military of four years duration. I worked briefly for the Postal Service before attending college at Delaware State University in Dover, Del., where I majored and earned a degree in accounting. Iave often been told by writers and professors that I had a knack for writing.I did some writing for local newspapers during my college tenure and after. The poetry came a bit later, when a friend who also wrote poetry encouraged me to give it a try. She was pleasantly surprised about my early works. That was in 1986. I didnat do much poetry again until the year 2001, when the lady in my life read over some of my earlier works and was quite impressed. She just happened to be a published writer in her own right. She then introduced me to another friend who is a published poet and asked her to advise me. She just happened to hold a Ph.D. in her field. It was through her coaching that I was able to fine-tune my work. She also advised me to seek publication of some of my work.