Prior to teaching, he was a world traveler and business owner, having lived in Germany and Turkey and visited parts of China. His poetry has appeared in a variety of journals internationally. His haiku received honorable mention in the Key West Heritage House Robert Frost Poetry Contest in 2008. Silenced Press nominated him for Best New Poets in 2010. His other invented poetic form, the koanpoem, was first published in twenty20 journal this past summer. More details about the koanpoem can be viewed at his website.