Ronnie R. Brown is an
Ottawa writer whose work has appeared in over one hundred magazines and
anthologies. The winner of the
Acorn-Plantos People's Poetry Award (for
States of Matter, Black Moss Press)
and the Golden Grassroots Chapbook competition (for her long narrative poem, Un-Deferred), Brown's work has, most
recently appeared in the anthologies: Tamaracks (Lummox Press, USA), and Another Dysfunctional Cancer Poem Anthology (Mansfield Press) and will soon be featured in The Nashwaak Review.
Q: How long have you been in Ottawa, and what first brought
you here?
I first came to Ottawa in the fall of 1981. My husband and
I immigrated to Canada (from the US) in 1969.
We spent our first 12 years in Montreal where my husband (eventually)
found employment as a journalist with The Canadian Press. In '81 he was
assigned to Ottawa and we've been here ever since.
Q: How did you first get involved in writing, and
subsequently, the writing community here?
I began to write in my early teens. Teachers not only
encouraged me, but saw to it that my work was published in anthologies that
were put out by the school board. I was fortunate enough to live in
Massachusetts, a State which valued and promoted the arts (way back when,
anyway.)
When we moved to Montreal I attended Concordia University
(in Montreal) receiving both a BA and an MA (in Creative Writing) during my
stay there. Being a student/teacher at
Concordia allowed me to hear and meet with
writers like Henry Beissel, Irving Layton and Gary Geddes who read my work
and mentored me. Gary served as my
advisor for my Creative Writing thesis (a collection of poems entitled On Falling Bodies.) Working with Gary
was a wonderful experience for which I will forever be grateful.
As soon as we settled in Ottawa, I began looking for
"poetry contacts." An ad in a community newspaper led me to the TREE
Reading Series. I went, participated in one of their open sets and began meeting
and working within the Ottawa community.
Q: How did being in such a community of writers shift your
thinking about writing, if at all?
Since I was not involved in the University scene in Ottawa,
I found that connections had to be made by attending and participating in the
many local reading series that were taking place at the time. Many of the hosts
(like the late Marty Flomen) were welcoming and, in a time before the internet,
etc., they let poets know what was happening locally and actively rallied to
get folks out.
Q: What do you see happening here that you don’t see
anywhere else? What does Ottawa provide, or allow?
I would say that a number of my thoughts on writing were
already formed during my time in Montreal, but I did become exposed to other
styles of writing (for example, performance poetry, particularly by way of the
group First Draft.) Regardless of how
fixed one may be in their ways,
exposure to new and different styles and voices does have
an impact.
When I arrived in
Ottawa I was surprised to see how well poetry could thrive outside an academic
setting. I found this to be refreshing. At the time I arrived there were many
reading series going on and several small publications. Unfortunately there
seem to be fewer opportunities of this kind (rob mclennan's many projects being
a notable and welcome exception.) Even the number of writing classes seems to
have dwindled, although, I guess, the internet has filled that void. Since I
have lived here so long I can't honestly comment on how Ottawa is different
from other places, but I assume that the changes I've observed are also
happening elsewhere.
Q: Have any of your projects responded directly to your
engagements here? How have the city and its community, if at all, changed the
way you approached your work?
I know that the staging of my work, On Falling Bodies at the Atelier of the NAC, was largely due to the
fact that I was here. A brain-child of
George Young (who made quite an impact on the city during his time here ) and
Paul Couillard (who brilliantly took the work from page to stage) On Falling Bodies was a case of being in
the right place and being seen (or rather heard) by the right people. Seeing my work on stage most certainly
changed the way I look at what I am presenting and provided me with a high
point in my life.
Q: What are you working on now?
At present I am working on some pieces about my adventure
with breast cancer (most are funny) as well as trying to keep at the whole
writing thing (not as easy as it was when I was younger.) I regret the fact
that not only are there fewer readings to attend, but also that I am not always
able to attend what few are there (I do better when there's no stairs and the
nights are warm.)
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