Christopherwatkins_promo_colorIt is with great pleasure that I introduce you to LENNDEVOURS’ newest contributor, and first poet laureate, Christopher Watkins.

Chris is a poet and songwriter. His chapbook "Short Houses With Wide Porches" is forthcoming from Shady Lane Press, the publishing arm of The Kerouac Project.

His poems are appearing or have appeared in The George Washington Review, Euphony, Talking River, Red Rock Review, and the anthology In Our Own Words: A Generation Defining Itself (MWE Press), among others. He was the Fall 2006 writer-in-residence at The Jack Kerouac Writer-in-Residence Project of Orlando.

As a songwriter, he has released five albums under the name Preacher Boy, and has received a Gold Record for his songwriting work with Grammy-Winning artist Eagle-Eye Cherry.

He was born in Iowa, and has since lived in Michigan, Italy, Washington, California, Ireland, Colorado and New York, roughly in that order. He and his missus, visual artist Amy Marinelli, currently reside in the town of Port Jefferson Station, New York. Chris and Amy are also devoted wine lovers who work in the Long Island wine industry, Chris a tasting room manager at Roanoke Vineyards and Amy in the Waters Crest Winery tasting room.

At least once a month, Chris will be publishing an original, wine-themed, poem here on LENNDEVOURS starting later today.