Tawanna Brown

1 Posts

Tawanna Brown is a Midwesterner (born and raised in Chicago), who moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to be supportive of aging parents. She lives in metaphors, embraces love letters as her life mission, and comes from a long line of storytellers with a gift for lyin’. Tawanna has spent much of her life working within nuances of youth development and community engagement. In her spare time, Tawanna is writing an autofiction that seeks to, as her mother might say, add a whole lot of colorful yeast to plain ol' dough.

On a tan-painted brick wall, a mural showing the shape of Tennessee painted in white, and superimposed on that (covering the middle part of the state), a large white heart outlined in red. In fancy red letters, it reads, "I LOVE MEMPHIS."

Poetry

Poem: A Memphis Love Letter

November 12, 2025 | Tawanna Brown

A poem about “caretakers and waymakers,” which emerged from interviews with 13 frontline community workers in Memphis.