<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=489saA_0wPLqMYR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=489saA_0wPLqMYR00" width="828" height="828" ></figure>Image: Ramya Ramana via @wcu_sustainabilityOn Oct. 22, West Chester University(WCU) had the pleasure of being visited by Ramya Ramana, an award-winning poet. Born and raised in New York City, she won the NY Knicks poetry slam, received a full tuition scholarship to St. John’s University, and has recently acquired her MFA in writing from New School. She has published one book, “Don’t Drown Her in Her Baptism,” and many of her poems can be found on numerous sites including The Poetry Foundation. She even has her own WikiPedia page, if that says anything more about how talented and awesome she is! While we may imagine Ramana being born to be a poet, this absolute sensation didn’t start out that way. She did not begin with the ambition to become a writer, but she did dabble in the art by writing poetry after school, finding it cathartic in the midst of all the stress of being a teenager. “It was a safe place to be dangerous,” Ramana said. “You could say anything you want and there was no backlash or consequences for what you said. And so, as a child growing up with a lot of thoughts and fears, it was how I processed the world around me.”When she was a senior in high school, she began going to a place called Urban Word that had free creative writing workshops, slams, competitions and awards. She could further explore her interests in writing, this time with a larger like-minded community on her side. “When I look back, I think…. I learned more about writing at that time than I did in any other space.” The event that first caused her big break was becoming the New York City Poet Laureate in 2014. The job of the Youth Poet Laureate is essentially being an ambassador, the face of youth poetry in what city or region you reside in. “You’re not only a poet, you’re a representative for your city,” Ramana said. “You get to speak on issues that are important to you and that matter to you, you get to be a young voice that gets to be in spaces where there’s not a lot of young people. You get to go to places with politicians and grassroots movement leaders and artists. And so, yes, you have exposure for yourself, but ultimately, being able to use that responsibly in a way that actually helps other people, I would say… it’s probably the most important part of the role of being a poet laureate.”As such, she performed in many events including Pharrell’s Adidas Campaign, the immigrant gala, SONY TV’s Asian Women in the Arts awards, the United Nations and many more. The experience can range depending on the political landscape of where you live, as when Ramana became Youth Poet Laureate, New York City was undergoing a mayoral shift. As a result, she was present at the inauguration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, meeting many high profile people that she liked and admired who liked and admired her back: “I think it shifted a lot for me at such a young age, but not everybody has that experience.”“It was wild. I became Youth Poet Laureate when I was 18 years old, and I was a freshman in college, and then I went from a girl writing poems after school that nobody read but me to now being in a public platform and I don’t know {if} I had the tools to process that. It’s glamorous on the outside, but actually living in it… I mean, I was grateful, but it was costly, right? You’re going to be aware about how you’re perceived a lot of the time, but I got to be in some very cool venues and be around some cool people and really, at that point, I think I understood the power of youth voice and my voice in particular.”Nowadays, Ramana is working on many projects, like teaching poetry in elementary, high school and college settings, along with helping and working with young women of color in events, movements, campaigns and education systems. She also teaches adults at Brooklyn Poets. “I love getting to walk people through poetic journeys and I’m always amazed at people who come to class,” she said. “Sometimes, as a teacher, you’re just like, ‘Why am I teaching? The writing that’s coming out is so amazing!’”Other than poetry, she has been writing operettas, autobiographical short fiction and songs. Her current poetry draws from autobiographical experiences as well as sustainability — which is more of a recent topic she’s chosen to focus on. “Since the beginning of my writing, my writing has changed quite a bit… it was more about me being a first generation American, me being a woman of color, and also coming from a family that didn’t go to college or graduate college, so me and my sister were the first people to complete college and where I come from what was expected of a woman was [that] you get married and have kids and it’s a beautiful thing but… there was no ambition or dare to be anything more than that. And if you did, there was quite a cost to it. And so that was my inception to caring about justice in the world. It was from a personal experience. And then when you’ve seen that enough and when you hear other stories, you realize that yes, even people from different cultures and different parts of the globe can experience injustice. And I think that’s kind of where, for me, the interconnectedness happens…. The generational trauma and pain you’ve witnessed is not singular, and actually exists in a world beyond you, and I think that’s how I entered in caring about others.”Writing isn’t always easy for her, though. When asked what the hardest part of writing is, she shared: “I think the discipline of writing in itself, actually taking the time to write… it’s sometimes easier when you have a structure in place, or you… even being in school, I think it’s helpful. But when you’re outside of that, the actual structure of writing, the actual discipline of writing can be difficult. Especially when there’s so many other things pulling at you in life.” Ramana also mentioned the difficulties in being able to discern her own voice from the voice of others: “What is expected for you to be concerned about, what is asked for you to be concerned about, to really discern that, between your own voice and what you have to say. Because I think the more honest you are as a writer, the more you can impact others… And I think we live in a time when there [are] a lot of great concerns in the world, but each of us plays a part in that. And in order for us to do that, we have to be honest with our work and what resonates with us the most, and not try to tackle it all at once.”When asked what advice she has for young writers and poets, she said: “I think what really helped was being surrounded by a community of people that are also writing, and that love and are hungry to grow… that never stop being students. I think it’s important to surround yourself with those writers, if you can. Obviously not every place in America has…. a community of poets or a community of writers, so I know that that is not accessible to everyone, so if you can’t find it in person, then maybe online, but really allow yourself to engage in a community because you grow. It’s a really strange phenomenon, but I feel like I write better when I’m around other writers.”“And know that your voice matters,” she continues, “and that it’s worthy of being shared. And you don’t have to reach this place of perfection. If I started when I was ready, I would be nowhere. So know that you don’t have to be ready to begin. And continue, no matter what happens in life. It’s sometimes the hardest task, but you’ll see fruit in that.”She also emphasized the importance of reading, recommending many books including “Bite by Bite” by Amy Nezukhumatil, “Sabbaths” by Wendell Barry, “Crush” by Richard Siken and “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway.Ramana is truly a gift to this world and should give us all inspiration to unleash our creativity into the world! Her style of poetry is very unique, and you can tell when reading that there is a lot of thought put into her work and there is just so much to unpack. If you missed her visit to WCU, never fear, for you can read her work online and read other various interviews by her on PBS or elsewhere! Thank you Ramya Ramana for coming to West Chester, we hope you had a lovely time and that we’ll see you again!Emily Rutz is a first-year English major.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

A Spotlight on Ramya Ramana

On Oct. 22, West Chester University(WCU) had the pleasure of being visited by Ramya Ramana, an award-winning poet. Born and raised in New York City, she won the NY Knicks poetry slam, received a full tuition scholarship to St. John’s University, and has recently acquired her MFA in writing from New School. She has published one book, “Don’t Drown Her in Her Baptism,” and many of her poems can be found on numerous sites including The Poetry Foundation. She even has her own WikiPedia page, if that says anything more about how talented and awesome she is!