Young Adult Author Jasen Sousa's Official Site: May 2009

Life, Weather By Jasen Sousa

After a long, strenuous process this ended up being the finished product. The reality of “Life, Weather” is proof that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. After not knowing anything about writing or publishing, I was able to build my first book from the ground up and go on to sell many copies. The book contains poems and illustrations for every poem. “Life, Weather” would be the foundation on which I would go on to build my writing career and J-Rock Publishing.

A Thought and A Tear for Every Day of the Year By Jasen Sousa

At this point in my life I was going through a difficult time. I was attending college and working and nothing seemed right to me. One of my closest friends Chris Ormond, had just passed away from overdosing on drugs. Nothing was making sense to me and all I did was write so I wouldn’t explode. I kept writing and writing and some ideas for my next book project started to creep into my head. Since I was writing everyday I came up with the idea to create a poetry journal which would capture an entire period of my life. While learning great discipline and developing a vision which would require me to pay attention to both myself and the world around me, I wrote a poem everyday for an entire year. The result, “A Thought and a Tear for Every Day of the Year.”

Close Your Eyes and Dream With Me By Jasen Sousa

With “Close Your Eyes and Dream With Me,” I tried to describe the process of a dream which you try very hard to make become a reality. I broke it down into a three step process which consists of The Dream, when you first imagine your dream, The Nightmare, when you question if it will ever come true and The Awakening, when you start to see it developing into something real. With this book I really wanted to show that I was growing as both a writer and a human being. “Close Your Eyes and Dream With Me” has been my best selling book to date.

Almost Forever By Jasen Sousa

“Almost Forever” was really a cleansing process for me. I had the idea that this book would deal a lot with death and how a person battles this unbeatable foe throughout their life. I began taking photos inside of various cemeteries around the city of Boston. The energy I began to feel from just walking through cemeteries and spending time in them gave me the idea to sit down and do some writing inside of the steel gates. It gave me a great opportunity to reflect on my life and really connect with many of my childhood friends who were taken from me at an early age. I lost track of time and wrote the entire book inside a cemetery.

A Mosaic of My Mind By Jasen Sousa

“A Mosaic of My Mind” is the 5th book in my collection. With this book I really dug inside my mind to see what was there. The poems inside of this book are an exact representation of what was living inside of my mind during this time period in my life. This book contains some of my best writing to date, and really shows my growth as a writer and a thinker. I wrote much of this book outside as well. I was finishing up my last semester of college while writing this book and I wrote most of the pieces on benches, in subways and on buses while going through my days in Boston.

Selected Poems of Jasen Sousa, Age 17-24

The explosive energies erupting on the streets of Somerville provided Jasen Sousa with the materials for a truly unique collection of poetry. Selected from Jasen’s first five books written between the ages of 17 and 24, Life, Weather, A Thought and a Tear for Every Day of the Year, Close Your Eyes and Dream With Me, Almost Forever and A Mosaic of My Mind, Jasen explores death, suicide, teen pregnancy, homelessness, abuse, drugs and addiction without hesitation. His words beg a struggling young generation infatuated with drugs, crime and sex to change their ways. Jasen wrote many of these poems on benches, in cemeteries and in subways and ended up depicting the lives of people which society has forgotten about. This selected collection chronicles the beginnings and growth of a young thinker trying to understand and find truth in the world he lives in.

Humming Eternity By Jasen Sousa

In Jasen’s 7th collection of poetry he pays homage to people who have had a tremendous impact on his life. As you read this book you can almost hear Jasen humming his thoughts and ideas as he experienced these visions up until the moment he was able to find a pen and paper and masterfully capture glimpses in time which couldn’t escape his mind. The situations, experiences and descriptions of the characters who appear in Humming Eternity will live on in the mind’s of readers for eternity.

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Monday, May 25, 2009

Some Pics from Somerville 2009 Memorial Day Parade