Elias Raven's poetry has been gaining critical acclaim since he came onto the poetry scene a few years ago. His book "The Painted Shadows" has been recognized by many as a work that is both refreshing and challenging at the same time. His poetry is familiar, yet the style is fully his own. The authors meditations on love & loss, life & death, religion & spirituality, his own personal identity, humanity, history & sexuality all form a compelling narrative for the reader as he pushes the absolute limits of his creativity. This poet delves deeply into his past and present taking us all on a very real and personal journey of the spirit as he seeks to articulate his visions with the rest of us. "The poetry of his writing embodies a range of feelings and images that are always unpredictable, yet beautiful and haunting at the same time...His words resonate with the reader and open doorways to the limitless possibilities [whether he] is proposing his own re-interpretation or vision to historical images and text. His words are painful to read at times, the images that come forth bleed from his heart echoing in the interior of his soul, screaming his pain... Still other passages are deeply erotic and mesmerizing, leaving the reader to wonder how much is from this poets own personal reality. He can look into the night and transcend meaning, his words leave an indelible impression, causing the reader to dive back in again and again looking for hidden meanings and gems among the passages...Elias truly gives space to poetic meaning and initiates further dialogue leaving the reader wanting more and more." KB The assembled guest poets that are in the back of this book of poetry both old and new form a wonderful compliment to this gifted writers verse. Familiar names from the indie writing community like Ethan Radcliff, Alan Walker & Alexandria Sure along with a slew of new and upcoming poets all form a wonderful framework and introduction to this writers poetic vision.
Elias Raven was born and raised in Los Angeles. He's an avid reader with a lifelong passion for writing. He's a storyteller, a poet and a talented musician with an amazing voice. Oh, and let's not forget an amazing cook! As a young boy he spent many summers reading classics such as "The Adventures of Sherlock Homes" and "The White Company" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His creativity was constantly being pushed as he learned more and more about the world around him. His taste in literature spanned from classics to science fiction/fantasy. He expanded his taste devouring everything from William Blake to Milton, Dante, Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, T.S. Elliot, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Khalil Gibran, William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, Paul Verlaine, Walt Whitman, Alan Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Carl Sandburg, Dylan Thomas, and Jim Morrison. These inspirations and his sheer love for reading had him take pen to paper around the age of 20. Did I mention he's a Musician? ...You can often find him playing his guitars (both electric and acoustic) and keyboards and singing (4 octave ranges) in his home studio. He's a classically trained music aficionado -trained early on by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Hayden, Liszt, as well as Big Band, Jazz and Rag Time. Spending time with his father at the Los Angeles Philharmonic; experiencing his first orchestra concert at the age of 9. Elias the Gourmet Cook...Oh My!...His Japanese mother and grandmother trained him very well in fine culinary skills both in cooking and food appreciation from all over the world such as Italian, Indian, Moroccan, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hawaiian, Pilipino, Greek, and Polish. When Elias is not reading, writing, composing music or cooking...he can be found listening to music, playing games, hanging out with his kids. He enjoys going to concerts, going on culinary adventures, sightseeing, spending the day at the beach or in the mountains...just doing something adventurous!
