James Dean Rivera hails from New York. He was born in the Bronx and grew up in Brooklyn. He graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in business management. He is currently living an everyday life working a 9 to 5, but doesn’t see himself living average for the rest of his life. He aspires to become a world renowned author and a premier poet.

Working as a school safety agent, Rivera who is 32 says that writing has opened his eyes to seeing that there is a world outside of the regular hustle and bustle. He’s been working in the New York City schools for the last 6 years, and wants to accomplish more.

By night Rivera is writing poetry, doing poetry slams and open mics. He also runs a YouTube channel where he promotes the work he has done, and posts weekly poetry videos. You can find some of his work from his recently published book Words From the Heart on his channel. The poems in his book consists of love, romance, heartbreak and even erotica.

When writing poetry Rivera patterns himself similar to the work of poet Gil Scott Heron, focusing on real life experiences. The difference between Scott and Rivera is that Rivera does not necessarily focus on problems in the world, but chooses to write about what he experiences first hand. He writes his poems like they are short stories. This is what makes him really stand out as poet as well as a writer. His poem “Where’s That Lady” which is featured in his book, is a good example of how he uses real life experience in his work, which touches on love and the perfect woman.

As a writer who is trying to expand his horizons, working towards becoming more than just a poet but a best selling author who writes short stories, there are struggles involved. The biggest struggle for him is dealing with writer’s block and with coming up with new ideas for his work. When looking for inspiration he finds it in his girlfriend Nina Lewis who encouraged him to start his YouTube channel and write his first book. When his YouTube channel and career gets big, she is the one that he will thank.

To plugged in with Rivera, you can find him at Jamesdeanrivera.com. On YouTube as James Dean Rivera . His Instagram is @jamesdeanrivera85 and @@jamesdeanriverapoetrypage. He’s also on Snapchat as JamesDeanRivera and Twitter @jamesdeanriver1.

Purchase his book here Words From The Heart.