Sceneazine Jul. 2014 | Page 13

13 Ron Baxter I by Angela Abbott ’m a fan of poetry and have had the pleasure of spending the las 3 years getting to know an amazing, out of the box poet/writer, Ron Baxter. From Brooklyn NY, now living in Columbia, SC. I Interviewed him recently & this is how it went: 1: How long have you been writing? “I’ve been writing professionally since 2004. In college I used to sell essays and when I graduated I published my first novel and became vice president of a poetry show.” 2: What poets & writers inspire you? “Stephen King is my favorite fictional writer due to his work ethic. I own pretty much all of his books. As far as poets... I’m a big fan of Tavis Brunson aka Da Minista. He’s a national ranked poet and also a local celebrity in the Columbia, South Carolina area.” 3: What books have you written and tell us how we can get them. “The System and Samson’s Barber are two of my novels currently available. You can pick them up on amazon.com or at your local book store.” 4: Where in Columbia, can we go to hear live poetry? “Columbia, SC has always hosted plenty of spoken word shows. The best one right now is probably at Savinas (the old Mac on Main) every second Tuesday hosted by my friend Spyrit. Also every Wednesday Al Black has a poetry show at Drip coffee house.” 5: Where will you be performing and signing books next? “You can catch me performing at either aforementioned shows and most times I’ll be signing books as well.” 6: What do you want people to get out of your poetry/writing? “I write my poetry for myself nowa- days. Its a reason to fellowship with like minded individuals. If you love my art that’s wonderful but its used as a means to release my stress. I want to inspire the youth with my novels. My people have gotten away from reading and I want to connect the youth. A classic novel can give the writer immortality... And who doesn’t want to live forever?” 7: A brief summary of your background and where we can find you. “I grew up in the Bronx. I went to South Carolina State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Professional English. I became involved in Slam poetry and have been featured in several shows and on multiple albums. I can be found on Facebook and Instagram. Check out my latest novel at www. outskirtspress.com/ samsonsbarber ”