Xennia (Zen-ya) Gittoes-Singh, a.k.a. Running Waters was born in New York, New York. She was raised in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, and Virginia. She lived in California for 23 years and recently relocated to Virginia. She is a wife, (married to William Long) mother, and grandmother who began writing at nine.

Xennia’s multicultural, multi-ethnic (Cherokee, Sikh, French, African-American and Irish) talents show in her work. Xennia has performed poetry in all the states listed and worked as a California Poet in the Schools teaching the subject of Racism until she moved to Virginia to care for an elder.