Hello, Steemit community!

Hello, I'm a 47-year-old American but I've lived in France for 16 years this month. My name is Steven. I'm married with two great kids. My wife is from Argentina so we're a tri-lingual family (French, Spanish, English). Language is one of my passions. I've been a poet and writer for over 20 years. My first novella will be published by Whiskey Tit in the next few months.

I'm also a visual artist and occasionally show my stuff, usually with a big party for an opening with live bands, food, dance, film projection, etc. But unlike writing, it's more of a hobby I get into from time to time. Writing is my real art, but I've worked in painting, 16mm film making, theater, puppetry, dance, music, collage, assemblage....

I'm an amateur beekeeper and at the moment only have one hive. I'm also an avid DIY'er and am in the slow and expensive process of renovating an old barn into a home.

My interests are varied but I'm really into books and vinyl records, art of all kinds, politics, religion, geography, technology and am close to being obsessed with Mars colonization and settling the Solar System.

I'm pretty well-traveled, and even with kids have managed to go pretty wide and far throughout Europe, Latin America and North Africa. My dream is to visit Ethiopia.

I am a recovering heroin addict and used intensively for several years. I've been clean for a relatively short time. I was a highly-functional addict but that stuff nearly destroyed my life. I'm still sorting through the debris and am looking forward to staying clean.

I maintain a blog called Laws of Silence (https://lawsofsilence.blogspot.fr/) but the quantity and quality of the posts has decreased over the past couple of years because I got burned out and have too much work to do. The H didn't help!

I work as a teacher, translator and occasional voice-over actor. I hope to have some stimulating conversations and get involved in a community which is more rewarding than FB and Twitter, which are great for keeping up with friends but a little banal at times.

Politically I'm a center-left progressive I suppose, but I have friends all over the political spectrum. I have strong opinions but always try to be civil and open to new ideas. I was raised Anglican but am pretty much a Universalist. I am also a Freemason, but have been inactive for years. I have a strong interest in Buddhism and Islam.

OK, that's pretty thorough and open, hope to hear from you and make some interesting friends! Oh yeah, I have a BA in History and Humanities (double major) from Stetson University but also studied art and audited a few courses over the years from USF and Cornell.