“In Shadows” is Jason Leonard’s first collection of poetry. He writes introspective dark poems of love, betrayal, self-loathing and the perception of beauty. A truthful look into a time of heightened confusion and sorrow in his life, Jason explores the complications of keeping his life and relationships together while trying to find his place in the world. As is customary for a lot of Jason’s work, many of his poems have double meanings. In Remembrance, “Will the wind ever remember the day it blew away my soul, and returned it to the earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” he uses religious symbolism to convey his message even though there is very little of his work that has a religious theme. Perhaps it’s the observational almost monologue approach to his writing but there’s a level of truth here not found in most works of poetry. In The Fool, Jason admits “I breathe as if I will always, I long for the softness of your touch. The struggle to find himself in a world that prides itself on its ironic sense of detachment is a constant reminder of his never-ending search to find meaning. In Perception, Jason finally discovers “And life is not in beauty, beauty is in life, and beauty is all in how you perceive.” “In Shadows” will take you on a journey through the boundaries and complexities of human emotions.

“In Shadows” is Jason Leonard’s first collection of poetry. He writes introspective dark poems of love, betrayal, self-loathing and the perception of beauty. A truthful look into a time of heightened confusion and sorrow in his life, Jason explores the complications of keeping his life and relationships together while trying to find his place in the world. As is customary for a lot of Jason’s work, many of his poems have double meanings. In Remembrance, “Will the wind ever remember the day it blew away my soul, and returned it to the earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” he uses religious symbolism to convey his message even though there is very little of his work that has a religious theme. Perhaps it’s the observational almost monologue approach to his writing but there’s a level of truth here not found in most works of poetry. In The Fool, Jason admits “I breathe as if I will always, I long for the softness of your touch. The struggle to find himself in a world that prides itself on its ironic sense of detachment is a constant reminder of his never-ending search to find meaning. In Perception, Jason finally discovers “And life is not in beauty, beauty is in life, and beauty is all in how you perceive.” “In Shadows” will take you on a journey through the boundaries and complexities of human emotions.

Jason Leonard was born and raised in Naugatuck, CT. He has been involved in music and the arts most of his life. He is an artist, consultant, music teacher and poet. Instrumentally, he splits his time between guitar, bass and saxophone. While Jason does have a Liberal Arts degree from Post University most of his studies have been through private instruction and independent research. Jason started writing poetry as a creative outlet outside of music. Some of his poetry is considered free form, meaning it does not always follow a rhyme scheme. Jason has said that sometimes he prefers writing poetry as the creative influences of the music and melody of a song can be challenging. His poems tend to be more expressive and passionate as a result. His debut book of poetry, In Shadows, are dark, introspective poems with a twist. They give a brutally honest look into Jason’s experiences with love, betrayal, self-loathing and the perception of beauty. The poems contain many religious overtones and explore the complicated nature and boundaries of human emotions. Jason currently resides in Bristol, CT. His interests include concerts, movies, new restaurants and travel. He is currently writing music for his upcoming LP, Long Road to Ruin. It will be the first album featuring exclusively his own music. In Shadows is his first published book of poems.