Erik Thursson was born to a single mother living in a rural town in New York. He never knew his father, but he did know that each one of his siblings had a different father. By the time he could walk, he had moved more times than most of us have moved in our entire lives. He doesn’t remember much, but he does remember eating rotten food. And he does remember trying to kill himself by jumping in front of a car. When he was 7.  Erik's passion for literature has been with him at his darkest times, and continues to be present in his daily life.  He can be seen in Berkeley selling poems, and spreading love to the Berkeley community.