I was born in Ville Platte, Louisiana. I stayed in Eunice, Louisiana, until I was eight years old. I came to Oakland, California, with my grandmother, Lubertha Trammell, to be with the other members of our family. My first experience with poetry came in the fifth grade. My teacher, Mr. Muckelroy, introduced me to creative writing and poetry, and after listening to him read a poem by Carl Sandberg, I knew that a new avenue of expression was opened to me. When I wrote my first poem, called “The Sun,” I found a way to give voice to my feelings that I could not always mange to do verbally. I have been writing and living poetry since that day. I have also done poetry readings and taught poetry in the Oakland school system as a way to impart this love of writing into younger children as well.