My passion for writing began early with the formidable influences of my beloved grandmother, women within our community, and the history that flows through my vein as a Black woman of the South. Growing up, I was steeped in the oral tradition via the stories of oppression within my community and, thus, felt a deep sense of compassion for our struggles, while noticing the throughlines of erasure. I felt compelled to understand why, despite countless marches, protests, movements, and the sacrifice of our bodies do we still face such a crucial disparity in American life. Racial disputes, discrimination, and injustice leveled against our community, which resulted innumerable losses and an overwhelming sense of grief — nevertheless, joy continues to erupted through North Gulfport. Ultimately, I want to witness for my homeplace and all of the stifled voices — of Gulfport, Mississippi — as a means of documenting a disappearing way of life as well as signaling to others who may feel isolated in our community. However, hear me when I say that we are a formidable people, and our creative and cultural workers are actively seeking to engender space for us all.​

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I completed my Ph.D. at Binghamton University and an M.A. at Hollins University. Xavier Review Press published my debut poetry collection, Troubling Accents (July 2013), which received a nomination from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters and was selected by the Texas Authors Association as its 2014 Poetry Book of the Year. My second collection, Heathen, has been selected by poet and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller as the winner of the 2014 Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Prize (Wayne State University Press, March 2015). My short story, “The Iron Bars,” won the 1999 Peregrine Prize. I am a Callaloo as well as an Idyllwild fellow.