Hope was raised in New York City by a "brilliant seamstress and tailor" mother who taught her to crochet at a young age[1] and a father who enthusiastically encouraged her interest in science fiction.
She recalls being constantly surrounded as a child by "adults who spoke to [her], told [her] stories, taught [her] songs," inspiring an early interest in literature.
[2] Hope took part in a music program in high school, learning to play violin, cello, and bassoon.
Hope's collection Embouchure, Poems on Jazz and Other Musics won the Writer's Digest 1995 poetry book award.
[6] In 2022 Hope won an individual artist grant from the NYSCA for her project,"Afrofuturist Pastoral Speculative Poetry."