Sonia Sanchez was born on September 9th, 1934 as Wilsonia Benita Driver in Birmingham, Alabama. At the age of 1 her mother died, then sent to live with her grandmother. In 1941, age 7, she moved to Harlem with her father, sister, and stepmother; her father's third wife. Although her marriage with Albert Sanchez did not last, she kept her professional name. She later married Louise Bogan, their marriage didn't last either. In 1972, Sanchez joined the Nation of Islam but later left in 1975 because her views on women rights conflicted with theirs. She has 3 children, and 3 grandchildren.
Sanchez has traveled all over the world, including; Africa, Caribbean, Australia, China, Europe, Nicaragua, and Cuba. She also taught at over 500 colleges including Howard University. She was an advocate for others. She was involved in a numerous amount of programs similar to CORE (Congress for Racial Equality). Sonia Sanchez is known for her traditional poetic format haiku and tanka, and also tends to use incorrect spelling to stress the meaning of her poems. She has won many awards during her career, and loves to target African American readers.
