Eventually , she took a class at the University of California Los Angeles ( UCLA ) about writing children 's poetry and the class inspired her to write her first novel .
Hemphill published poetry for adults first , but had always wanted to write for children .
Hemphill took a class at the University of California Los Angeles ( UCLA ) about writing children 's poetry and the class inspired Hemphill to write Hemphill 's first novel .
Hemphill published poetry for adults first , but had always wanted to write for children .