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About Me:
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, mothered by a beautiful "Catholic" Boriqua sweetheart by the name of Mary Evelyn Bodon. Fathered by Bernard Sol Flashman and though my father comes from a "Jewish" background, neither of them forced religion on me. I guess that's why I decided to be a free spirit until finding my faith later in life. I also have a half brother (Same mother different father but my whole brother none-the-less) who is almost ten years older than me, but no other siblings.
Though my life began in Puerto Rico, I only lived there until I was about six months old, which is when we moved to Saint Croix in the Virgin Islands. We lived there for a year and a half before we moved to Elkhart, Indiana. I was then two years old and we moved around a lot because my father was a private pilot. After Elkhart we moved to New Jersey when I was about five. Last stop was New Windsor NY when I turned six and I basically grew up there.
In the sixth grade when I was in middle school, I was introduced to poetry by a sensitive soul, my class teacher Mrs. Qualey. I'll never forget how she would cry when she read my poems to the class. I don't know if she was just that emotional or actually touched by my poems or both, but she would share them with the other teachers too. That made me feel good about what I was doing. I was also introduced to Hip-Hop around this time and metaphors and similes became my new love. I learned how to freestyle and became very natural with the flow. I had a little GPX boom box with one speaker and used to rhyme over Monica's "Don't Take It Personal" instrumental while I was in class. Even the teacher would let me carry on for a little break. On my poetic side, I was writing poetry to girls. I fell in love quite easily, a bit of a hopeless romantic. My first poem in the 6th grade was called "You and Me." It went like this:
"You and me in the nice moonlight
You and me will never fight
You are the light that keeps me going
I'm on a rowboat that won't stop rowing
Rowing down a stream of love
Everyone's under but your above
Above the light that I can see
I'm just glad it's You and Me"
That was to my first girlfriend, whom explained her troubles to me, not to get to specific, but that was the reason I never tried to kiss her. I always had a caring heart. As a kid finding popularity through rhyme and reason I started going down different paths. Suddenly, everything I did was now to impress my friends. I didn't listen to the teachers that advised me to pursue my writing as a career. Overwhelmed by Hip-Hop, I listened to Brand Nubian, Queen Latifah, KRS-One, LL Cool J., Nas, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Tone Loc, Run DMC and so many more... Still as my parents were going through a separation, my brother in constant turmoil, I grew distant and developed my own route near the streets. Not that I was ever a thug or anything but I guess you could say I was a thug affiliate. However, at the end of the day I was more than ever a ladies man and that was where my poetry continued to blossom.
Around my senior year of high school I became very philosophical and my poetry began to take a deeper edge. A nice poetry teacher by the name of Mrs. Sharon asked me to apply for a college in Vermont. I should have listened to her, but again I decided to pursue other interests. Now that I look back, I see a confused teenager, afraid of leaving lost roads. Hence, I didn't want to go to college just yet as I was still trying to find myself. That was until my father gave me an ultimatum, "go to college or get kicked out of the house.." Graduated from N.F.A. (Newburgh Free Academy) as a "C" student, though I was intelligent, I never applied myself and only concentrated on the flaws of the school system. Big mistake! So I picked a Graphic Design school in Miami, which was the only school I applied to.
I basically became a man in Miami. Living by myself away from all my family and friends. This made me stronger and I definitely learned a lot from my experiences. Sure, I made a few mistakes, but most of them I didn't repeat. I was living and learning... During college in Miami, I found Open Mic Venues seven days a week. Though I received a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design, it felt like I was getting a Master's at the Poetry spots. In fact one of the poets I saw around; "Poetis" was on Def Jam Poetry. She gave me a lot of inspiration as she would take words from the crowd and make a poem out of it off the top of her head. I tried it myself one night and completed the task, but with her experience she was so much more natural. Still I kept harnessing my craft and I performed in the first Open Mic at my college; "Miami International University of Art & Design". My words were/are always original and at that time I sold my own poetry CD produced by myself on a computer mic. I received a lot of respect from fellow poets, as most people wouldn't by poetry on disc without some type of beat. But as a poet, the conflict with that is you may listen to the beat more than the words and after all Poetry is a true craft.
Sincerely,
Ariel Flashman
Though my life began in Puerto Rico, I only lived there until I was about six months old, which is when we moved to Saint Croix in the Virgin Islands. We lived there for a year and a half before we moved to Elkhart, Indiana. I was then two years old and we moved around a lot because my father was a private pilot. After Elkhart we moved to New Jersey when I was about five. Last stop was New Windsor NY when I turned six and I basically grew up there.
In the sixth grade when I was in middle school, I was introduced to poetry by a sensitive soul, my class teacher Mrs. Qualey. I'll never forget how she would cry when she read my poems to the class. I don't know if she was just that emotional or actually touched by my poems or both, but she would share them with the other teachers too. That made me feel good about what I was doing. I was also introduced to Hip-Hop around this time and metaphors and similes became my new love. I learned how to freestyle and became very natural with the flow. I had a little GPX boom box with one speaker and used to rhyme over Monica's "Don't Take It Personal" instrumental while I was in class. Even the teacher would let me carry on for a little break. On my poetic side, I was writing poetry to girls. I fell in love quite easily, a bit of a hopeless romantic. My first poem in the 6th grade was called "You and Me." It went like this:
"You and me in the nice moonlight
You and me will never fight
You are the light that keeps me going
I'm on a rowboat that won't stop rowing
Rowing down a stream of love
Everyone's under but your above
Above the light that I can see
I'm just glad it's You and Me"
That was to my first girlfriend, whom explained her troubles to me, not to get to specific, but that was the reason I never tried to kiss her. I always had a caring heart. As a kid finding popularity through rhyme and reason I started going down different paths. Suddenly, everything I did was now to impress my friends. I didn't listen to the teachers that advised me to pursue my writing as a career. Overwhelmed by Hip-Hop, I listened to Brand Nubian, Queen Latifah, KRS-One, LL Cool J., Nas, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Tone Loc, Run DMC and so many more... Still as my parents were going through a separation, my brother in constant turmoil, I grew distant and developed my own route near the streets. Not that I was ever a thug or anything but I guess you could say I was a thug affiliate. However, at the end of the day I was more than ever a ladies man and that was where my poetry continued to blossom.
Around my senior year of high school I became very philosophical and my poetry began to take a deeper edge. A nice poetry teacher by the name of Mrs. Sharon asked me to apply for a college in Vermont. I should have listened to her, but again I decided to pursue other interests. Now that I look back, I see a confused teenager, afraid of leaving lost roads. Hence, I didn't want to go to college just yet as I was still trying to find myself. That was until my father gave me an ultimatum, "go to college or get kicked out of the house.." Graduated from N.F.A. (Newburgh Free Academy) as a "C" student, though I was intelligent, I never applied myself and only concentrated on the flaws of the school system. Big mistake! So I picked a Graphic Design school in Miami, which was the only school I applied to.
I basically became a man in Miami. Living by myself away from all my family and friends. This made me stronger and I definitely learned a lot from my experiences. Sure, I made a few mistakes, but most of them I didn't repeat. I was living and learning... During college in Miami, I found Open Mic Venues seven days a week. Though I received a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design, it felt like I was getting a Master's at the Poetry spots. In fact one of the poets I saw around; "Poetis" was on Def Jam Poetry. She gave me a lot of inspiration as she would take words from the crowd and make a poem out of it off the top of her head. I tried it myself one night and completed the task, but with her experience she was so much more natural. Still I kept harnessing my craft and I performed in the first Open Mic at my college; "Miami International University of Art & Design". My words were/are always original and at that time I sold my own poetry CD produced by myself on a computer mic. I received a lot of respect from fellow poets, as most people wouldn't by poetry on disc without some type of beat. But as a poet, the conflict with that is you may listen to the beat more than the words and after all Poetry is a true craft.
Sincerely,
Ariel Flashman
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