I was about 20 when I discovered Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. Like many others at that age, I was blown away by what I was reading, and I quickly began to consume as much of it as I could get my hands on. I think I was about halfway through “The Dharma Bums” when I became so moved by the story that I put down the book and typed up a letter to Allen Ginsberg asking if we could meet. It was not a novel idea, but at the time, I felt like I had to try. I guess I felt an urge to connect with someone that seemed to be speaking directly to my soul. A couple of weeks later I came home late one night to find my father half-dressed and sitting in the kitchen. He seemed be a little in shock as he said, “Allen Ginsberg just called for you.” Not long after that I found a postcard in my mailbox proposing that we meet up at his Rinpoche’s house in Ypsilanti, Michigan later that summer. During the visit we discussed poetry and the photography of Robert Frank, and I photographed Allen and he photographed me. Since that encounter, I sometime reach out to individuals that inspire me, either artistically, or by expanding my understanding of the world. As a photographer, I often think of myself as a collector, and ultimately this series of portraits is another type of collection. It’s a collection of experiences, and an attempt to pay homage to the people that have influenced me and, each in their own unique way, illuminated some dark corner of our collective conscious.