After graduating from high school in 1990, Valerie traveled to Canada where she studied cultural anthropology and psychology at McGill University. It was here that she began writing poetry. Inspired by African drumming classes, dance parties with friends, and conversations with professors who were also poets, she decided to give it a try herself. Since then, she has written hundreds of poems about topics such as death, love, and religion. Valerie's work has been featured in several magazines and journals, including The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse, and she has won multiple awards from organizations including the National Poetry Society, the International Association of Literary Translators, and the American Translators Association.