Born and raised in various parts of Los Angeles, Hiram Sims is a poet, essayist and Creative Writing Professor teaching with The Community Literature Initiative. He graduated from University of Southern California and received a B.A. in English: Creative Writing, and a Masters of Professional Writing in Poetry. In addition to teaching essay writing, creative writing, and literature, He has published three collections of poetry, including Poems of a Young, Troubled Mind (2007), Write or Die:An Anthology of Poetry from the Urban Poet’s Workshop (2008), and PHOTOETRY: Poetry and Photography from South Central (2013), and his creative writing textbook, These Pages Speak (2015). He is te co-founder of World Stage Press, and founder of The SIms Library of Poetry, boasting the largest collection of poetry in Los Angeles.