Praise, Pain and Lust

After years of musical and spoken word performances throughout the midwest, Asale Lara unleashes his first book of poetry. True to its title, this volume chronicles Asale's journey through the darker regions of the mind and the valleys of the heart in his quest for redemption. These tales of a neo-romantic's spiritual quest take the reader on a rollercoaster of spiritual highs and carnal depths presented in a variety of forms ranging from traditional sonnets to urban verse. Asale's bicultural heritage and Midwestern upbringing, as well as the various cultures surrounding him make themselves evident in this eclectic yet cohesive volume of work demonstrating enormous command of the English language while occasionally dipping into Spanglish. The themes of romance, spirituality, and the heartache often associated with both provide a truly universal scope making Asale Lara America's dark poet for the twenty-first century.