James D Ardis

Hi I'm James D Ardis. I write poetry, short stories and novels. I'm a columnist for the literary website Zine 5, outside of which I have 10 publications including those in Teen Ink, Volume and High Contrast magazine. I've written one, currently unpublished novel "The Shadow Man". Currently I'm working on the second draft of my next novel, "The Fall of Our Babylon" and a third novel "Senseless Beauty". My poetry inspiration comes from E E Cummings, Adriene Rich (who wrote my favorite poem "Prospective Immigrants Please Note") and Imamu Amiri Baraka. Writers that have influenced me include Steven King, Tom Savage, Jodi Picoult, Charles Dickens, Augusten Burroughs and Agatha Christie. A great deal of credit must be given to my fourth grade teacher Anna McCleary for nurturing my love for writing and being the first to show me that I was capable of making a carer of it instead of a simple hobby. Other influences on my life include Buddha, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Dorthea Dix.