La Shan

A writer’s passion is surrounded by the simplicity of things taken for granted. A writer’s motivation is to inspire a story sparked in a reader’s mind.I am La Shan Knox, and this is my story:Pencil and paper have been best friends to La Shan Knox since she was a little girl. Dolls were her characters ranging from a fairy tale princess to the damsel in distress. Books were La Shan’s friends sparking her creativity and imagination.A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, her imagination heightened after being introduced to daytime soap operas The Young and the Restless and Guiding Light.“My mom loves soap operas, so I guess I picked up that habit from her. I was fascinated by the suspense of what will happen next, but homework always came first.”Leaving the pencil behind, La Shan’s hand became the pen of a ready writer. She documented her life’s travels from financial hardships to learning the importance of forgiveness. Her labor birthed a collection of poetry entitled Still Standing: Volume One published by Elle Nubia Press. “Poems are like a mirror’s reflection. Once you read one, the veil comes off and there you are standing in the mirror looking at yourself. It’s as if you’re knocking at the writer’s door saying, ‘Let me in. Let me in.’ Once you go in, you’re not learning about the writer, you’re learning about yourself.”Knock. Knock. Who’s there? A teacher. A teacher who? A teacher who told La Shan that she would never write due to her inability to hold a pencil “properly.” With the strong support of her mother, La Shan slammed the door to CAN’T, and opened the door to I CAN, holding the pencil to her hand’s comfort remembering the story of The Little Engine That Could. La Shan said, “I know I can. I know I can. I know I can.”She climbed the ladder from Social Services, Journalist, and a Production Assistant on FOX’s comedy sitcom The Bernie Mac Show to working as a Costumer in Film and Television production. “I am inspired by the writings of the Apostle Paul, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, Countee Cullen, just to name a few. I stand on the shoulders of so many people before me. And I am excited that I will pass the mantle to others coming after me.”After the hard day’s work, and when the patience hangs on by the shred of thinning thread to count it all joy is that one is Still Standing.

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