I fell in love with words and writing at an early age. I self published my first two collections of poetry in my early twenties (Only a few copies for my closest friends and relatives). They were both an attempt at emulating some of the great poets. I began exploring new voices, many from the non-English realm in Europe and Asia. I also immersed myself in Eastern and Western philosophies. I wrote my next collection of poems in my late twenties (Only to be published years later) Primarily, I was mainly interested in exploring new styles. However, after much cajoling by my one I once knew, I finally decided to have it published under the title 'Convergences and Divergences'. Before the publication of this collection, I had had a few of my poems published here and there in anthologies, chapbooks and some local papers. one, a new 'experiment and experience.' It is titled 'Poems without a Country'. I am also working on a novel which I started over a year ago. <br /><br />[email protected] <br /><br />As a first time slang lexicographer and independent researcher, I started delving into slang back in 2003. So far, I've researched thousands of books, sites, blogs, papers, mags, film scripts, lyrics, etc,and hundreds of slang dictionaries such as Partridge's dictionaries, Green's Cassell's Slang, Chambers Slang and his multi-volume Green's dictionary of slang,covering over 5 centuries of slang from the Anglophone regions as well as Hinglish. It is my hope that after its completion (there's no such thing as 'complete' in slang) it'll go online, in addition to book form, so it'll be more accessible and affordable for those interested in slang and informal English that is fully researched and backed up by authentic, early and current cites. I've e so far built a database with thousands upon thousands of headwords (& counting) and cites (& counting). I presented a paper at St. Anne's College, Oxford in June 2010 called 'Slang and the Problem of Defining Slang'. <br /><br />[email protected]