Dawn Hamilton began writing poetry at a very young age. As a teenager, she found it difficult to express her thoughts, but while she was attending Independent City's all-ages school in St. Catherine, Jamaica, she took advantage of a journal her mom had given her and started writing about how she felt as a teenager. Dawn relates, "It became my freedom. I didn't realize then that it would become my horizon along life's pathway. Writing sustains me through difficult times." She calls her poems "Letters to God,? and with every one she writes, she prays that he will respond and that she will hear his voice. According to Dawn, "To endure is difficult, but to deal with physical and verbal abuse is heart rending." She thanks God every day for paving a way for her voice to be heard. She currently resides in New York City, and she has received numerous awards for her work, including the International Merit Award for Poetry, Outstanding Achievement in Poetry, and several editors' choice awards. Her work can be found with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an organization whose mission is to enhance, develop, promote, and preserve creative talents among Jamaicans.