Jermaine Thompson was born in Louisville (Lewisville), Mississippi. He learned language from big-armed women who greased their skillets with gossip and from full-bellied men who cursed and prayed with the same fervor. He’s been writing poetry since he was 13-- inspired by having to memorize Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” for a Black History Program at his church. He has a B.A. in English from Stillman College, an HBCU in Tuscaloosa, AL, and a M.A. in English from Mississippi State University. He moved to Kansas City in August 2015 to complete an MFA in Poetry from the University of Missouri--Kansas City (UMKC). He has publications in The Pinch, Memorious, Whale Road Review, and Southern Indiana Review among others. Jermaine is also a board member of The Writers Place—a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the literary community in Kansas City, Missouri.