I come from Black brilliance / from an enduring legacy uh multi-hyphenates / from musicians, writers, educators, agitators, theologians, alchemists.

These are the people I call Mom, Dad, Auntie, Granny, Grandaddy, etcetera / infinitum.

is my soil / my artistic home frequency.

My Great Aunts Emma an’ Arletta—both retired teachers—gifted me a “Hooked On Phonics” set when I was about three or four.

It solidified my love for the music of language.

At 16, I attended the KY Governor’s School for the Arts as a Creative Writing student.

That same year, I began a serious career pursuit as a spoken word artist—organizing writing workshops, poetry slams, an’ social demonstrations throughout my college years.

is observation in action. It’s deeply empathetic in nature / uh way uh life.

Between the ages of 18 an’ 28 (those aforementioned college years),

I fell in love with plays / with choreopoem an’ theatre of the oppressed.

I wrote some plays of my own, did a few festivals, got an MFA an’ uh half, a MacDowell Fellowship, an’ then

entered thuh chat.

Truthfully, I grew up in it.

My dad is a classically-trained multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, an’ yep, teacher.

He championed all of the instruments I learned (in phases) growing up: piano / guitar / etcetera.

Fast-forward to March 2020 /

the year it all came full-circle:

I was writing a play when the world shut down.

Determined to hear it out loud, I opened GarageBand an’ recorded the whole thing in my closet with a usb mic.

It got real musical / real quick,

and I’ve been falling down that rabbit hole ever since.

My mother is a retired special education teacher.

Noticin’ uh pattern here? 🎓

With over 20 years of service an’ dedication to the disability community, her legacy is that of being a force—a formidable advocate, writer an’ musician to boot. Her influence has been the most consistent throughout my life.

She raised my brother an’ I with a powerful sense of dignity—truly honoring our differences.

My brother is understood as nonverbal, and grew up with his autism diagnosis. I received my ADHD diagnosis in 2023.

All of the above has gifted me a lens through which to understand myself and my work.

I offer it all as an homage to my family an’ the enduring legacy of their love.