Staceyann Chin

Staceyann is the author of the memoir "The Other Side of Paradise."

A proud Jamaican national, Staceyann’s voice was featured on "The Oprah Show," where she spoke candidly about her experiences of growing up on the island and the dire consequences of her coming out there.

Widely known as co-writer and original performer in the Tony-Award-winning Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, her poetry has seen the rousing cheers of the Nuyorican Poets' Café, one-woman shows off-Broadway and writing workshops in Sweden, South Africa and Australia. Chin’s three one-woman shows, "Hands Afire," "Unspeakable Things" and "Border/Clash" all opened to rave reviews at the Culture Project in New York City.

Chin is the recipient of the 2007 Power of the Voice Award from The Human Rights Campaign, the 2008 Safe Haven Award from Immigration Equality, the 2008 Honors from the Lesbian AIDS Project, and the 2009 New York State Senate Award. She unapologetically identifies as Caribbean and black, Asian and lesbian, woman and resident of New York City.

Be it on “60 Minutes” or in The New York Times, Staceyann has a reputation for telling it exactly like it is.

For more, visit staceyannchin.com and myspace.com/staceyannchin.com.