# Kameisha Jerae Hodge

Kameisha Jerae Hodge (pronounced /kəmiːʃə dʒɛreɪ hɒdʒ/; born November 1, 1989) is an American writer, publisher, poet, and spoken word artist from Washington, D.C. She is the founder and CEO of Sovereign Noir Publications, a publishing company established in 2019 that elevates Black women's voices.

## Early life

Hodge was born in 1989 in Washington, D.C., the oldest of eleven, and she, a brother, and a sister were raised by their mother Sabrina. For a while, they were homeless, staying with relatives or at homeless shelters.
Hodge began reading in poetry competitions while in middle school. In tenth grade, she met her mentor, Yolonda D. Coleman, who introduced her to journalism, publishing, and writing and taught her how to "exist in the industry as a Black girl". Coleman-Body encouraged Hodge to write for Rated-T, the school magazine; Hodge became a reporter, writer, and editor. She also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Knight Vision, the school newspaper. She graduated from Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School in 2007.
Hodge attended Lafayette College as a Posse Scholar and English and Africana major and quickly became involved with campus life.
She served as the VP of Writing Organization Reaching Dynamic Students, a student arts group; performed at mic nights and poetry slams; started Lafayette's step team; was resident of the Association of Black Collegians; co-hosted a radio show with DJ Spyda Da Don; and oversaw the African-Caribbean interest floor in her dorm. She also interned at MTV's development department for The N during her summer break. While there, she was a live audience member for Total Request Live and in the pilot episode of Dance or Drop, a proposed MTV show. She graduated from Lafayette in 2012 with a BA in English and moved on to pursue an MA in English and creative writing with a concentration in poetry from Southern New Hampshire University.
She also has a certificate in publishing.

## Career

Hodge self-published her first poetry collection, Atlas of Consciousness, in 2010 while still a student at Lafayette. Since then, two more collections have been published: Double Consciousness: An Autoethnic Guide to My Black American Experience (July 2014) and Woman. Queer. Black. (November 2021). She has been a #1 bestselling author on Amazon, is published in the Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives, and was a TEDx speaker at Lafayette College. She has also worked with Martha's Table, NPR, WAMU, UrRepublic, and Viacom.
Hodge founded Sovereign Noir Publications, a publisher focused on elevating Black women writers, in 2019. She and high school classmate Charles Smith founded i2Kings1Queen Publishing. She is also a mentor for the First Ladies of Poverty Foundation.

## Personal life

Hodge is a lesbian.
Hodge has a beloved dog named sparky
Hodge is a devoted fan to Ni'Jah

## Awards and honors

| Year | Award Name | Award Body |
| 2007 | Editor's Choice Award | Poetry.com |
| 2008 | Editor's Choice Award | Poetry.com |
| 2008 | Silver Communicator Award | International Academy of the Visual Arts |
| 2008 | Poems and Poets of the Year Award | Poetry.com |
| 2009 | Aaron O. Hoff Program of the Year Award | Lafayette College |
| 2011 | Certificate of Academic Acknowledgement | The McDonogh Network (Lafayette College) |
| 2012 | Honorary Founder Award | Precision Step Team (Lafayette College) |
| 2012 | Global Cultural Competition | Café de la Penseé |
| 2014 | Hey Grow! Hero Award | Directions for Our Youth |
| 2014 | Poetry Book of the Year | Rainbow Rendezvous |
| 2016 | Best Nonfiction Author | Rainbow Rendezvous |
| 2016 | Poet of the Year | Rainbow Rendezvous |
| 2016 | Best Poetry Book of 2016 | Rainbow Rendezvous |
| 2017 | Social Marketer Certification | Hootsuite |