Matthew first started writing poetry in 2002. After having gone through some difficult personal problems and suffering with severe depression and social anxiety disorder, he started to keep a diary as a means of venting his emotions. Never having felt comfortable with expressing his feelings directly, his diary entries naturally took on a cryptic style which very quickly metamorphosized into poetry! By 2010, Matthew had built up enough work to compile into a book, Phantasmagoria, which he has self-published through Lulu.com. In August of 2011, Matthew joined the Write Afresh creative writing group at Raynes Park Library. He finds attending the group a good way of motivating himself to write, and enjoys the social element of sharing work and hearing the work of others. Now with the motivation and inspiration that he gains from Write Afresh, he has started building up a body of work to eventually compile into a second book!