BIOGRAPHY

Sharran C. Taylor, who also performs under the artist name, Kween Yakini, has self-published several poetry books such as, Woke: A Poetic Journey, The Dream And The Lie, Tracing Black Music To The Roots and Telling Our Blues With Black American Poetry.  Some of Kween’s work has received award recognition from the Nat Turner Library in Southampton County, VA.  Since the beginning of her poetry journey 11 years ago, Kween Yakini has been doing what she loves, which is sharing her truth telling poetry with inclusive organizations and their attendees.   If you would like to contact the author you may send an email to sharranctaylor00@gmail.com or you can visit her website: hookedonpoetry.com

To learn more about the author you may visit her website: hookedonpoetry.com or contact her directly at sharranctaylor00@gmail.com

When I first fell in love with poetry, I knew that I wanted a pen name that had a significant meaning. I found the name “Yakini Malika” which means Truth Queen in the African Yoruba language, but later I simplified it and called myself Kween Yakini and I kept the part of the name that meant Truth.

WHEN I CAUGHT THE POETRY BUG

Kween started writing poetry in 2015 and she began performing Spoken Word at Open Mic venues in 2016. She took a leap of faith and she had know idea how things would turn out, all she knew was that she had to jump in the ring. The first time she recited a poem her stomach was filled with butterflies, however years later Kween stands on stage with a commanding voice. She recalls the time when another poet asked her if she still gets nervous before speaking and she smiled and said, sometimes.

LEARNING TO HONE MY CRAFT

As I began to get more comfortable with being on stage, I wanted to test my performance skills, so I competed in a few local poetry slams and I even made it to the 3rd round. Going up against some poets who had been performing for many years gave me more confidence in my speaking style and my writing ability.

MY FIRST TIME PUBLISHING

After performing and writing for about 2 years I would publish my first book “Woke: A Poetic Journey” which would receive an award from the Nat Turner Library.

Once I became a published Author, I realized that I now had a great responsibility to choose my words wisely and that my words had the power to impact people in a profound way. I was now beginning to understand what I was capable of doing and my path started to become clearer.

Click Below To Watch The Interview!

Meet The Author Series – Virginia Beach Library – Interview With Author Sharran C. Taylor – May 2022