Nija Burton is a African American poet born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa
She is the daughter of Fay Burton and Lawrence Phillips, the eldest of four children, with a younger sister and two younger brothers.

She began writing at the tender age of nine while growing up in Philadelphia amidst the trouble and plight of urban life.
While the world would crumble around her, she found solace in writing
She would write to escape the harsh realities of growing up in the projects and having little money.

Her poetry offers the reader a pass into the mind of a young black female.
Her poems look at the world with a realistic truth, acknowledging the sorrows and celebrating the thrill of a contemporary life.

Her poetry blooms from a place of uncompromising honesty and raw emotion.
Wise beyond her years, she draws deeply from her roots combining her history with her future to encompass and express a brand of poetry that is uniquely her own.