Clay

I'm a writer, musician and recovering actor. I live in Nashville, where I was born. For a few years, I lived in Washington, DC and then in Los Angeles. Then I came back.

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I write a lot of poems, and you can find links to some of them here. I've been published in Slake, Waxing & Waning, Cathexis Northwest Press and others. A few years ago, I was a finalist for a PEN Emerging Voices fellowship, and I'm a 2020–21 OZ Arts/Porch Art Wire fellow.

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My film work includes Walk the Line, Deja Vu, White Lightnin' and more, and I've been on television in The Wire and a CBS miniseries about Elvis Presley. On stage, I've worked at Arena Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, Theater J, Actors Bridge Ensemble, theatre dybbuk and more. 

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Over the years, I've had a lot of jobs — haven't we all? I've been a journalist, a music critic, and a creative director, I've worked in a theater box office, as a data entry clerk and a day laborer. Today, I do a lot of other stuff, like copywriting and brand identity (the steady gigs).

 

I play music, both my own and with other people — it's a requirement for Nashville residency.

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I believe in rocks, trees, night-blooming jasmine, ritual, old movies, collective liberation, trans teenagers, black coffee, black lives, cat videos, naps, and that a successful life is one filled with good stories and good food. 

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