Tom Cintula is an independent author and writer who was born, raised and currently resides in Staten Island, New York. He is a graduate of The College of Staten Island with dual bachelor’s degrees in Sociology/Anthropology and Philosophy. His previous publishing effort include poetry collections such as Sonnetsphere and Sirius. His writing credits include contributions for The Borgen Project, Game 7 Sports Club, and All Access MMA. Tom sat down with Stereotype Co to share his story.

How did you get into creating?

I began writing as a little boy. I created super heroes and fictional characters during lunch time. Everyone would socialize and I would draw and write. I liked sports more than anything, but I had a disowned self that I didn't pay much attention to. I liked to create things. I had an imagination that made me forget about the world or even ignore it. I would create things from my thoughts.

During college, I wrote short stories and took a short fiction class at Kingsborough Community College taught by Brian Katz and a film and literature course by Robert Singer. Also at KBCC, I learned about writing my feelings down by comparing and contrasting them to the films ranging the 1940's-2000's I watched, ranging from All About Eve, Niagara, The Bridges of Madison County, and The Devil Wears Prada, taught by Beth Preminger, related to the late Otto Preminger

I learned creative writing from Patricia Smith-DeSilva and multi-cultural literature by Amber O' Hanlon at the College of Staten Island.

It was Singer's class that introduced me to great stories such as Heart of Darkness (Apocalypse Now) and helped me understand Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde deeper.

I tried out acting in my early 20's and began taking classes in New York City and acted in short films in the area for student productions in NYU, Columbia, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, New York Film Academy, School of Visual Arts to name a few.

It was a daunting task to bare myself in front of people and perform a lot, even though I liked it. Suddenly, my passion diminished amid anxiety that I was unable to detect, but felt uncomfortable anyway.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Staten Island, NY. I am the third of four children, the middle child, and the oldest boy. I lived near the Tompkinsville, Grasmere and Dongan Hills sections of the borough.

How did growing up in your neighborhood/city affect you?

I was not always as close with my family, but I developed a great relationship with my grandmother and uncle. Although, they gave me emotional availability, my parents would always share sound advice and wisdom.

What did you do to advance your skills/knowledge?

I read books, watched what I liked to watch, listen well, and spoke very little. Although, things are a little different where I am more talkative, I always listened. I made a lot of mistakes and, of course, learned from them.

As for reading, I read biographies of Lou Gehrig entitled Luckiest Man, The Jordan Rules by Sam Smith and Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley. Even if I read biographies only, I still read.

My reading is more diverse from philosophy to poetry to fiction, but my curiosity about the world around me gives me knowledge. Sometimes, it's not what you know, it's what you ask.

I have a hard time with reading and sometimes, I must read over again as reading comprehension can be an issue.

What does your current setup look like?

My room has a bookshelf of old books, plays, poetry chapbooks, self-help books, biographies, novels, etc. I have an old school record player and vinyl records. I have some books on my desk with miscellaneous things. My atmosphere is a sanctuary of serenity, where I can rest and listen to iHeartRadio on my phone, namely WSOU and Q104.3 to help me relax.

Who inspires you?

I used to get my inspiration from sports athletes like Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Don Mattingly, and a host of others. As I've gotten older, I changed up in a major way to try and learn more about the world and the flaws it carries to find inspiration where it can help me shape my poetry and future projects.

I would say my intuition is an inspiration to guide me in the right direction in order to speak my own truth and show others that if you do, you can develop greater strength. It's not always easy. It's more difficult than you think, but getting in touch with your truth takes time, actually. A lot.

By the time you find it, you'll be able to showcase it and keep it with you , but share with others. That helps me as an artist and a human being.

What is your goal when you create?

My goal is to create something that's honest and based on how I feel. I like to show everyone what I feel and how I feel through writing. Being able to exhibit my inner dwellings and share with others make me feel like I just got out of a nice, hot shower, refreshed.

Why do you create?

I create to help keep the human race moving. I create to help myself function as a person so I can feel as if I accomplished something, and it always makes me feel better. It's an itch to scratch each day to get a sense of relief and look back to feel proud.

It doesn't have to be anything epic, but knowing that most people don't do this and it evolves my being to a higher extent.

Keep yourself fresh and work often, not for money, but to condition yourself. If I happen to make some money, cool! Plus, it's fun and I have an activity and outlet as an adult.

Most of them may not have that, so arts and humanities keep me fresh. There's still so much more than creating.

How has choosing your creative path affected your life?

I resort to creativity to advance myself and bring human evolution to the soul while also having fun with it. Sharing it also feels great. It has given me a community to feel part of as local artists are looking to relieve themselves from the world by doing something exciting.

If gives me the time to travel to other parts of the country to visit other with the intention to share, explore, develop relationships, and have fun, which is more important.

Did you have to overcome any obstacles along the way?

Several years ago, I had a conversation with a family member who overheard my parents discussing whether or not I have autism spectrum disorder. I took it upon myself to get tested by a psychologist in December of 2018. I was officially diagnosed before the end of the year. Prior to that memorable day where I was informed about this, I had a hard time communicating and understanding how others communicate with me and others.

My mother tried to find a psychologist to get me diagnosed, but there were few, far and between as diagnoses were scarce for ASD. I would have liked to have them discuss to me what was going on and maybe have them try again a decade later, but nothing materialized.

Social cues were difficult to discern and masking was a survival tool, especially in school where there are so many things going on and you're only a kid. Kids were kids, bustin' each other's chops, and mine. Teachers were not always the ones with all the answers, and my parents were not always there to help me. They battled drug addiction, which forced my siblings and I to live with our grandmother and uncle in the spring of 1989. It was a long two years without them and we all struggled without them. We missed them terribly.

There were strong emotions, anger, sadness, and little if any understanding about the story of our parents' departure. School was hell for me because I had no help. I struggled academically and socially. I was angry a lot and had no other way to channel it until I discovered sports and martial arts.

Like a lot of people, finding outlets like them helped shaped me, and given adversity at an early age made me fight when I didn't want to. Back in 1994-1995, my varsity basketball at St. Sylvester's team had a slow start and we got a serious chiding before we picked it up and eventually won the championship at season's end.

Coach Joe Crane told us to relax when things were bad, and it was a small thing that made a big difference and gave us a second wind. We got on the same page and turned out season around. I learned a valuable lesson that season about not giving up. It was a shame that I didn't instill that enough.

I had a history of poor self-esteem and depression. I could never understand what exactly the problem was, along with social interaction. The world was a blur and I had glasses to see everything I wanted to, but couldn't.

Finding a career was a hard one too, as I went from job to job to feed my artistic needs. I've worked everywhere from two 7-Elevens to Forest Avenue twice to returning to college, graduating until I had to work again and worked in two CVS stores in one five-year tenure to eventually landing a job at Lifespire on Willowbrook Road as a direct support professional. This position gives me meaning as I have found something to do with great purpose.

To be able to write poetry, self-publish three books, go on tour in the Northeast on my dime and work a job that no one knows exists and enjoy it is novel.

What's your go-to song right now and why is it important to you?

Since my turnaround and a new lease on life, my go-to song is "Now You've Got Something To Die For" by Lamb of God. I've seen them several times in the 2000's and I covered their song in poetry open mics last year.

What is your dream as an artist and what steps are you taking to reach your dream?

My dream is to continue towards this path, write more work, poetry, novels, short stories, social sciences, etc. and travel around the world to share my work while building a following and eventually becoming a successful business. Still making steps, but people are happy to see me do well.

I only started last year but I did it to get the stench of self-loathing off of me and it's been a breath of fresh air. The skies are bluer, the clouds are more full and the sun's beaming bright.

What would you tell someone else with a dream?

If there's anything you want to do, start immediately. Meet someone who does what you want to and do it. Learn how to do it, watch others who do it, do it, do it wrong, ask for help, then do it right. Study what you want to do, not just in school, but outside the classroom. We're mostly confined in offices and rooms with little adventure and social formation.

Doing what you like and meeting others who do it are the best things. Start out in a small group locally, learn how to do what you want to. Study and ask questions. Practice, get in touch with yourself and often. Tell the truth, especially yours and fully.

Whatever type of things you want to do, know that well and create your own voice with what types of work you want to do. If you believe in the work you do, great things can happen. But know what you want first by building a mantra and take your time with what you want out of it.

Ask yourself why you want to do what you want honestly and sincerely. Most people don't have a plan and just do it. You need a plan. Write it down if it helps you. If you know, ya know.

Tell us about your most recent release

Anathematic Darkness is a collection of free verse poems discussing the continuation of my personal demons and my thoughts about my world around me, experiences, deep thoughts, but in a vulgar, bitter tone with a sense of motivation.

I used these themes in Sonnetsphere and Sirius last year. Eventually, I would like to have different themes and other points of view on life so living and experiencing are the antidotes.

It was legendary acting coach Eric Morris who said the irreverent artist is the experiencer. You must find other ways to evolve by having new chapters of your life. It was Michael Shurtleff who said that consistency is the death of good acting, so if you do the same thing, mix it up. Following this tour in New York City, I may get some rest and write more. Maybe see family and make new friends.

Hopefully, I have enough money to travel overseas sometime soon.

Connect

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/cintulatom

Facebook.com: http://www.facebook.com/tomcintula

Website: http://www.youtube.com/@TACintula

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