Growing up in the foster care system, Pacia Anderson did not understand herself or feel understood by those entrusted with her care. She escaped into literature and found happiness in books, magazines, and comics. She even hid away in the library during her lunch periods at school, also in part to avoid the taunts of the kids who would make fun of her.

She didn’t know it, but she was honing her future craft and creative response to the world around her. During Anderson’s time in the library, she discovered the works of Black voices – like those from Third World Press and those she described as “titans and legends” in the black arts movement Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez.

Anderson is now one of those voices. She has transcended the library to become a teaching artist, creative consulta

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