 As the youngest daughter of six born to an African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church minister and a college-educated mother, Oden was instilled early on with a respect for education and intellect – she, along with her siblings were required to memorize and recite poetry.Additionally, her early religious training with Protestant rituals and hymns introduced her at a young age to the structures and rhymes of poetry, causing her professor (Carroll L. Miller) to describe her as a "Black Puritan" and a critical little "Blue Stocking".Oden's childhood was also influenced by estrangement from her siblings and parents due to an eight-year gap in age from her next closest sibling.