Adrianna Gardner
Bio:
Hello. My Christian name is Adrianna Gardner; however I go by the name of "Kool-Aid." I was born in Bellflower, CA on Oct. 28, 1984 and raised in Compton, directly across the street from the swap meet that was burned during the Rodney King trial.
I am an African-American female raised by a strong single mother and nurtured by an "ever-present" father, who passed away in my adolescence. I have two brothers and one sister through him, though I claim to be the "only child." My mother represents Forest, Mississippi and was born the day after Christmas, while my father, from Oklahoma, shares the same birth date with the visionary Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
My ambition to write grew early as the ex-substitute teacher in my mother encouraged me to write and speak through cheap Mead notebooks and kiddy journals. Attending private school all throughout elementary and middle school allowed me to hone these skills and develop a niche in talent. Though never performed orally until college, my talent was nurtured by my family and loved ones.
During my attendance at the University of La Verne, I have been Senator of Advocacy in Associated Students Forum, the current African American Student Alliance president, member of esteemed organizations such as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Alliance of Writers and Editors, and Society of Professional Journalists. January Interterm 2004 at the University of La Verne began a journey of the unfamiliar for me. I can now be seen at local coffee house and poetry contests or in the hallway on the first floor of Brandt Hall. I am writer with ambitions to one day write a book for young girls entering high school entitled Maxipads, a biography on my mother that remains untitled, and numerous books of poems, plays, short stories, and articles.
Check me out in a coffeehouse near you or write to agardner@ulv.edu.
Artist's Statement:
Disclaimer: Donotreadifyoudonothaveanopenmind. Fill in the spaces for yourself. I write for self in order to inspire others to do the same thing. I do not try to be "PC" or go for the mediocre. To stay within the realms of others' expectations is to limit myself, so read on with the idea that art is often not only a reflection of self but of the things around us.
Enjoy. Kool-aid.