I studied English and Communications at Virginia Tech and began my professional writing career at 22 with the Southwest Times in Pulaski, VA, as a sports reporter. At 23, The New River Current section of The Roanoke Times commissioned me to write two features a week covering collegiate sports and local arts and culture.

I left the Roanoke Times to independently publish 16 Blocks Magazine, covering Blacksburg (and eventually Roanoke) arts and culture. With a team of over 100 creative contributors, we published 42 issues over five years, from 2007–2012.
I also work as a freelancer and, since 2020, have been commissioned by The Washington Post, Ars Technica, Reverb, Input, Digital Trends, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Indy Week, CultureEater, C-Ville Weekly, Raleigh Magazine, The Roanoke Times, Blue Ridge Outdoors, 100 Days in Appalachia, Smoky Mountain Living, Inquisitr.com, and others.
https://16blocks.org/2023/03/07/hart-fowler-publisher-writer-designer/

I relaunched 16 Blocks Magazine in 2023 with Creative Director Rita Brame, and we produced ten print editions, 16blocks.org, a YouTube channel, and regular social media posts focused on Blacksburg arts and culture. Due to the many excellent art experiences I have had here, I started Roanoke Souvenir Magazine last January as a platform to archive and report on the many positive happenings going on in the city.

Most recently as an independent journalist, I have been commissioned to write about business and art for Valley Business Front, where I have been writing about art and venues. My cover story about The Exchange ran last December.

I regularly write poems and observations. Recently, I have written less fiction and focused more on journalism and publishing. I also write songs on the piano and keyboard.

I work mostly on desktops and laptops with large monitors for writing, and try to avoid working too much in the night. I work more with a camera and phone than a notepad when I’m out and about. I recently have been working in graphic and video design.

As a journalist I mostly cover art and those who are a part of making it, and sometimes I cover politics. I write short poems and write observations.

As with public Schools, public transportation is where you can learn the full city and citizenry of Roanoke. Being able to create a literary work from observations made a window-seat on all the metro routes is an amazing opportunity for a descriptive writer to make a larger work.

I have worked full-time substitute teacher for RCPS since January 2025, and have had assignments at nearly all of the schools in the district. Last Spring I was as a long-term art teacher substitute at William Fleming. I am finishing out the school year at Patrick Henry where I have been teaching English since last fall. I also am a coordinator for the YMCA Beacons after-school program at middle schools three days a week.

As a natural observer and journalist, I’ve learned much in a short amount of time about the geography of Roanoke by teaching throughout the city. I’ve daily and nightly observations on my commutes, and often seen a lot on my daily drives throughout.

Observing from the bus when another layer upon what I’ve seen from my car window.

This is my editor’s note for 16 Blocks Print Edition #50 from last Winter, and shows one the many reasons Roanoke is inspiring to me.

Our physical work spaces can positively impact how we think and feel, and this issue honors the creative gathering power that comes with inspired physical spaces like the Aurora Building where we make most of this magazine.

Throughout history, creative and productive people have worked differently and in different work environments than most other people. Low-rent, repurposed, and spacious downtown studios are historically fertile grounds for the creative that don’t mind the funky, and always desired for the few that have made sacrifices to get to choose where they work.

I’ve found the most prolific and steady creative work occurs over long hours in private and appointment-only places, tranquil, healthy, positive, mostly solitary, and with good light. I’ve also found myself being regularly inspired to look up by all the things that come with being surrounded by a bustling downtown Roanoke with peaceful parks and common areas scattered throughout.

The interior of the Aurora is an excellent remodel with attention to light and space. Once dilapidated, the glass storefront at the main entrance facing Campbell offers a prominent marquee covered entrance and remind of the days when downtown department stores were in fashion. The front and back glass lobby doors are locked for tenants and guests making for the kind of sanctum one looks for when the work is appointment-only and not for walk-ins.

The figure in the center of Rita’s “Aurora in Flight” is an aerialist flying down a ribbon as if descending from the sky and is inspired by Lynsey Grace Wyatt’s Cirqulation Aerial Arts & Acrobatics studio. Daylight pours through a glass wall on Luck Avenue down into the Cirqulation’s two story padded space where aerial acrobatics and exercises are performed. From the roof you can see fans turning in the skylight and the Ponce de Leon and hear United Methodist’s church bells, and bustling Fortunato crowds below with the downtown birds and trees with a view of the sun setting towards Grandin Village.

The building is remembered by long-time locals as Leggett’s, as did Stephanie Moon Reynolds when she came for an interview doing her Mayoral campaign. Current Mayor Joe Cobb came to the Aurora as well, and the Star City Punkcasters and Good Vibes Theresa Priest, and the Roanoke Cultural Endowment’s Shaleen Powell in the winter.

For this issue, I interviewed artist Joe Casso and street performer Jefferson Rose at the Aurora, and look towards interviews with developer John Garland (Aurora, Crafteria) and aerialists Lynsey Wyatt and others for the next print edition. The cozy confines of our studio have become an excellent spot for conducting interviews.

Before writing this I walked two blocks back to the Aurora from interviewing Emily Herr about her mural in-progress on Salem Ave, soon to be a gigantic public space full of potential for many things, and was again struck by seeing more inspiring progress downtown. Delevopers using a mindful eye towards the creative and artful, with remembrance towards the past, but occurring in-the-now in so many places throughout Roanoke. It’s good to be walking distance, and with ample parking, a healthy walk through downtown is one of the many joys of living in a thriving city.

Welcome to Issue #51, our 10th since reLaunching the print edition in 2023. We are grateful for the show of support from readers, supporters, and sponsors, without which this print edition would not exist. Enjoy, share with a friend, the mag is great for coffee tables and bookshelves, and become souvenirs of a time and place.

All of this is and more can be found on 16Blocks.org, in color and with motion pictures, audio and animation, but you don’t have to plug this in and there’s less distractions.