Spoken Word for the Soul

by Namitha Rathinappillai

 I had the honour of having my first Unmasked Connections performance with a resident early this month. In short, it was easily one of the most rewarding moments of my artistic career thus far. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult to facilitate new connections, and challenging to meet other artists. I can only imagine that this difficulty is exacerbated for people in more isolated communities, such as those that are elderly, disabled, or in long-term care homes.

 My art practice centers primarily around spoken word poetry. I have been writing, publishing, performing, and competing as a poet for about 5 years, both locally and nationally. One of the key aspects of spoken word poetry is the element of performance, and the potential to engaging intimately with audience members. With the COVID-19 pandemic, this key aspect had been greatly difficult to achieve, which in turn, made for a great time to focus on writing. What has always drawn me to writing has been the opportunity for self-reflection, especially about my own lived experience and identities.

 Through meeting this resident, facilitated by the Radical Connections project, I had the great honour of being able to connect with a fellow writer and activist. Throughout the session, we realized we had in common our enjoyment for writing and navigating our lives, for both ourselves and to share with the world, through writing. We shared anecdotes about our lives, our art forms, and reflections of how others have perceived us and made assumptions about us without our consent.

 I feel so grateful to be a part of a project that is on the forefront of something so awe-inspiring. I am eagerly awaiting my next session with this resident, and hopefully, others as well, as I believe these connections are a life-sustaining exchange that we can give to one another.

The Unmasked Connections program is funded by the Ontario Arts Council and Elder Care Ottawa.