August Reed
- Email: awr@augustreed.net
I am a writer in love with genuine storytelling and the enigmatic truth which only comes through the fusion of powerful language and unique dramatic structure. I see life as magical, spiritual, avant-garde and surreal. Here I tell a story of life by sharing the art and musings of what I see. Perhaps, through this endeavor, you will glimpse a piece of my soul as well as your own.
The second thing you should know about me is my pen name, August Reed. I use it as mask, as identity and as conduit to the outside world. Without it I would remain aloof, distant and unpublished. Well, mostly unpublished, a few years out of college I did publish a couple of articles in a local and a regional magazine. Those exceptions aside, I still have difficulty showing my work. I have written for years always pushing the need for readers into the future. Well, the future came and I was too paralyzed to respond. My phobia blocked my ability to move forward as an authentic writer. It was then (ultimately) I chose to create a pseudonym. A year or so later, August W. Reed appeared. He was my liberation. A month or so after that, I was online with this website and a few others. While it is still hard to be so open about my life; at least now, however, I am on the road. Taking baby steps, for sure, but I am on my way.
As for my real name, I may give it to you if you ask for it. Not sure it is important because I am only slightly different from myself as August. Perhaps more shy and introspective when not, everything else is the same. My likes, dislikes, the stories, poems and causes I support are all mine. In some ways, I am even more honest as August than I would be under my given name. I believe this is true for all the many performers and writers who have chosen to use a nom de plume. They each have their own unique reasons for changing their names, yet this one underlying essence remains constant for all. Whether George Eliot, George Orwell, Voltaire, Eddie Vedder or August Reed, we use our new names as a psychological shield to buffer our sensibilities and insecurities from the rigors of sharing our art. We use it to separate the artist from the person or to define the person as artist. Either way, it is so we do not lose ourselves.As for the rest of me, I am interested in all things concerning Life, History and the Universe. I studied theater, philosophy and art while in college. I grew up in South Carolina with a number of days spent roaming the mountains and streams of North Carolina. I have also lived in New York, Las Vegas, Atlanta and a wee stint in New Orleans. My future home will be on the California coast somewhere between Santa Rosa and Ventura.
My biggest problem in high school and college was I could never settle long enough to focus on one thing. This effected my performance in class and in extracurricular activities. In one moment I was brilliant, while in others, I was simply vacant. My mind raced from science, to English, to world events, to the books I was reading, to the books I needed to read, to relationships and friends, or to the meaning of the universe. I struggled with religion and my southern upbringing. I fought my own best instincts and succumbed too easily to my stubborn selfish nature. Still today, I continue this interior battle with all its turmoil. It is the life I lead and share. It affects all I perceive, feel and know. Whether sorted or unsorted, real or fantasy, it is my life—my interior castle.
Currently, I live in Birmingham, AL. I have a seven-year-old daughter, and, when not writing, I work as a Library Assistant at my favorite southern library. I have an insatiable need to be near water, trees and to see the moon each night. This is, no doubt, connected to the "Cancer" in me (July 5). I am at peace on the water, in the woods or at the ocean. So much so, I might not speak for hours or days in such an environment. In all other surroundings, I pace anxiously like a panther in a cage.As for all things which interest me, my list is ever-growing, still I have some particulars. I am quite fond of horses, turtles, whales and gibbons. I am enamored with most kinds of birds. I enjoy tennis, cycling, kayaking and weightlifting. I am one of the few owners of a 400lb and a 500lb hand grip. I suppose my most unusual interest is monasticism; especially, the ancient mystics.
I love film and the movies. Some of my favorites are all films by Hayao Miyazaki, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Richard Curtis (including his TV shows), and Peter Greenaway. I am a fan of the Sundance Institute and its Film Festival. I will watch anything starring Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant or John Wayne. I suppose, I should also throw in my appreciation for the Potter films, the Tolkien films, and The Bourne Trilogy. For specific titles see my IMDb list.
Please look around any of my sites and comment if you like. Honesty will be appreciated. You can find some of my poetry at www.tgsoderblom.com and some of my activism at www.theacaciatree.com. I can also be reached on Twitter @AugustReed, Tumblr, and Facebook.
It is my wish that something I say, somewhere, will have meaning for you.
Thank you so much for visiting!
