Taria Person is an alum of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where they received a dual B. A. in English Creative Writing: Poetry, and Interdisciplinary Studies: Africana Studies. Person is the author of Rainbow Elephant, and was commissioned to write a book of poetry by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation entitled, At the Summit. Person won an Artistic Professional Development grant from Alternate ROOTS in 2018 to produce their original lgbt stage play, Hangers, won an artistic grant in 2020 to produce their hip hop folk tale, Storm, has won multiple 1st place regional Spoken Word and Hip-Hop Slam Championship titles (2012 - 2017), performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival (2019), produced and performed Hangers at the Arkansas Theatre Festival (2020), as well as performed with Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and The 5th Woman Poetry for Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (2021). Taria Person is an annual Young Writers' Workshop instructor for Humanities TN, works as a teaching artist for Turnip Green Creative Reuse, and is the Write with Pride Coordinator for Southern Word.

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Quote

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“...freedom rings like air passing
when you hum that one song
when you sing that one song
that keeps you flying
freedom is singing, caged bird...”

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-Taria Person, “The Realest Person
an excerpt from “Message”

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