Christopher Brown was born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia- a city he considers integral to his life and creativity. A voracious reader, he started writing as a child and has devoted over twenty years to what he considers his great love. Also an amateur painter and aspiring songwriter, Brown can often be found in environments for Roanoke Valley creatives.

As a writer, I insist on retaining authenticity- usually of feeling and resonance, but also interest for less autobiographical pieces. Though intending to have fiction writing be my mainstay, I sidelined myself into poetry, which I like to think helped me learn how to pare my writing effectively. Over the years, I’ve worked almost exclusively in poetry, with some forays into flash fiction and attempts at media criticism and novel writing. Favoured poetic genres are nature poems and personally expressive lyrics.

I’m interested in this project because I want to see how well I can depict the Roanoke Valley in verse, and I hope to learn how to challenge myself and expand my reach as an artist, and any things about the Valley I don’t already know that would come my way.

Roanoke inspires my creativity by being a close-knit, almost familial at times community that fosters a developing arts & culture scene while surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty.