Namitha Rathinappillai (she/her) is a
Tamil-Canadian spoken word poet, artist, and writer who has entered the poetry
community in 2017. She has been involved with Urban Legends Poetry Collective
(ULPC) ever since her engagement with the Ottawa arts community, and made ULPC
history as the first female and youngest director. She is a two-time
Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW) team member with Urban Legends Poetry
Collective, and she published her first chapbook titled Dirty Laundry with
Battleaxe Press in November of 2018. She has been involved as a performer and a
workshop facilitator within the Ottawa community at spaces such as Tell em
Girl, Youth Ottawa, the Artistic Mentorship Program, Carleton Art Collective,
The Fembassy, Youth Services Bureau, and more.
Q: How long have you been in Ottawa, and what first brought you here?
I’ve been in Ottawa essentially my
whole life. I was born in Scarborough, Ontario, but I moved very early on in my
life. My mother definitely had an already established sense of community in
Scarborough, as the area has a dense Tamil population, but we moved for my
father’s job. I visit Scarborough often, as I still have a lot of family in the
area.
Q: How did you first get involved in
writing, and subsequently, the writing community here?
I first got
involved in writing after taking an AP Writer’s Craft class in my senior year
of high school. The final assignment of the class was to choose a style of
writing, do a presentation on the style and ultimately, create a piece of
writing in this style. I decided to pick spoken word as Button Poetry was on my
mind at the time. I took a crack at it, and realized I really enjoyed this
style of writing. It felt urgent and important, and it made me feel important.
I decided to throw myself into the poetry community in Ottawa: performing at
spaces such as Tell Em Girl and Spice. I ended up finding Urban Legends and
attending every open mic and slam I could attend. Two years later, I’m the
Director!
Q: How did being in such a community of
writers shift your thinking about writing, if at all?
Finding BIPOC
writers was what ultimately gave me validation and a sense of community in my
writing. I started my writing career writing deeply personal poetry about race
and gender, and the intersection of the two in my life. Though this poetry was
and remains important to me, I didn’t know what inherent value I brought to the
community if I did not write about these intimate parts of myself. Thus, I
allowed myself to write very taxing poems for the consumption of others. I have
since learned that I bring value as simply existing as a woman of colour in
these spaces, regardless of if I write about this identity, explicitly.
Q: What do you see happening here that
you don’t see anywhere else? What does Ottawa provide, or allow?
I really like Ottawa’s spoken word
scene. It feels deeply supportive, and invested in furthering one another’s
creative careers. There are folks that are very different, with different
styles and topics of poetry. The big-small city vibe allows for folks to grow
in Ottawa, without feeling as though we have to fight for space.
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?
Oh, I would not be where I am if it
wasn’t for the Ottawa community. I published my first book, won my first slam,
made my first national team, all in this city. It has supported me in my growth
as a writer without making me a carbon copy of someone else. The Ottawa poetry
community allowed me to grow into myself in a way that I am ever thankful for.
Q: What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my second
(?!) book, that is set to come out early 2021!
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