Jasemine Reed has developed writing workshops for kids and adults. She also offers a tutoring program for low-income families.
Jasemine Reed is helping adults and kids use the art of writing as a means for expressing themselves and discovering their untapped talents.
By Carrie Vittitoe | Photo by Kylene White
Born in Frankfort, Kentucky but raised in Louisville, Jasemine says she got her interest in writing from her mother, a writer, and her desire to do service for others from her father, who served in the military. These two foci, writing and service, are the foundations of her business Reed My Words, a creative and professional writing agency. While she does all kinds of writing and editing work, from campaign letters to book manuscripts to grants, she also works to help young people use writing as a tool to center themselves and develop coping skills.
Although Jasemine wrote a lot as a child and teen, her undergraduate degree is in psychology. “I am a very sensitive person and I feel a lot. I think I wanted to understand myself and human behavior on a deeper level,” she says. But in her senior year, she knew she wanted to return to writing. She got involved in spoken word and started teaching poetry writing in the community, and it was from there that she became an entrepreneur, launching Reed My Words seven years ago. Although she says she “accidentally ended up” in Spalding University’s MFA program from which she graduated in 2020, she wanted to attain more education to build her business. “I ended up where I needed to be,” she says. “I would turn whatever education I took and make it work for what I was doing. Reed My Words started well before my MFA, but it helped me improve [my business].”
Jasemine has launched various writing programs, including hosting Write On workshops for adults and teaching poetry in Jefferson County Public Schools. She began a summer Poetry Jam Camp that brings multiple art avenues together. “Visual art, dance, photography, drumming. We’re also adding an agriculture aspect to it,” she says. “The camp is about exposing [children] to the art medium.” On top of this, she added a tutoring program called Writing My Way Out for low-income families. Her center of operations has moved to the Shawnee Learning Center where her various programs fall under the name Creative Writing and Things.
Writing work for Reed My Words and educational community-building with Creative Writing and Things keeps her busy, as does her family, which consists of her high-school sweetheart husband and their three children. She has learned the importance of scheduling events and planning things seasonally. “I don’t have office hours, but I like it better that way. When people come in, I want something to be getting done,”
she says.
Do you know someone who deserves to be “seen” and recognized for the good they do in the community, for their friends, or in their job? Send an email to mediadesk@tbainandco.com and let us know!
