About Me

I prefer to be addressed by my middle name, which is Alex.

Hello! My name is Alex Hicks-Courant. I like to read, write, draw, wash dishes, and debate. My hobbies include skiing, ping-pong, slam poetry and varied low-impact sports such as Frisbee and hackey-sack. I’ve worked a variety of jobs, and have found that acting like you’re having a good time will often result in your having a good time, whatever it is you may be doing.

A moment that defined me was on December sixteenth of 2011. My friends and I were looking around our hometown in eastern Massachusetts for something to spend our evening doing, and upon drawing constant blanks, we elected to drive to York, Maine. We spent the next three hours or so in the car, and on a cold, windless night, the four of us stood on the shore of York Beach, looking to the moonlit horizon. We arrived home before midnight with nothing but the contents of our pockets and the sense of connectedness and contentedness we had standing on that cold, empty beach together.

People have sometimes asked me when I started writing poetry. Old notebooks suggest that it goes back as far as fifth grade (2005), but there is no indicator as to when short stories or narratives became trends in my writing. In my high school graduating class of around four hundred people, twelve students received awards. The rewards were for academia, art, music, things of that nature. I had no idea what to expect when I was invited to the award ceremony, but I ended up receiving the “Excellence in Writing” award. Growing up, my home was littered by the trophies and plaques of my two older sisters. This award was a chance to make my own contribution, and to be awarded for something I’m passionate about was an incredible feeling.

In 2009, I was introduced to a ska band called “Streetlight Manifesto.” They’re most easily explained as deeply insightful and poetic lyrics accompanied by a trumpet, trombone, bass, two saxophones, drums and guitar. Each of the seven band members with a college degree in their individual instruments, their capacity to produce incredible music surpasses that of any other band I’ve ever heard. An activity that gives me great satisfaction is the breath-taking, almost life-changing experience of attending a Streetlight Manifesto concert. In the last three years, I have missed only one of their three shows within a hundred-mile radius – and will soon be purchasing a ticket for their upcoming November 2012 concert. There is simply no satisfaction greater than that which you get from the almost religious experience of seeing your favorite band perform your favorite songs live.