When art finds its voice
Word Spell: Using poetry to connect to others
There are many ways to have an impact on the world, but real change comes from doing the things that a person is truly passionate about.
Tosin Ajogbeje, 27, a spoken-word poet, writes and performs to raise awareness about the many problems of the world. After feeling alone and isolated during her time in school she decided that writing will help connect her with others who share similar experiences.
She writes on topics that truly affect the communities, covering subjects relating to homelessness, discrimination, gender issues, drug abuse and poverty.
Ajogbeje was 11 years old when she started writing. It was after experiencing life in Nigeria that got her thinking about the conditions that people must live in — the lack of needed resources and the injustice and disparities of the world.
“You find yourself ruminating over so many things, for some reason you find yourself wanting to put that on paper. I was very curious about nature, life, things happening in the word,” Ajogbeje said.
She says she writes because she wants to get the voices of the people heard. She wants her poetry to inspire those around her and to empower them.
During her time as a student at Algoma University, Ajogbeje worked with the students’ union to help those voices to be heard and to provide the best resources for all students. This opened her eyes even more about the lack of resources and the troubles of the world.
“I wanted to create an art form where I could speak about things that are important for people,” she said.
Ajogbeje has a master’s degree in public administration and has worked as a policy analyst and researcher in community development. She has graduated from Algoma University as well as Dalhousie University.
Being part of a student board that covered student issues similar to bigger community issues intrigued Ajogbeje to write spoken word poetry.
She says that her writing is made to empower, encourage and inspire the community to work for a social change.
She says she believes that poetry has to come from within — she says she has to experience it, to feel it, to create an impact. “I have to feel empowered first to empower people because that is what spoken words is about,” she said.
Currently, Ajogbeje is working on producing a poetry book as well as making 2019 the year that she creates content creatively, such as in videos.
“To keep spreading my message positively, and impacting people and inspiring people and encouraging people that is my reward.”
Kathleen Driscoll, a St. Catharines Poetry Slam organizer and poet, agrees with Ajogbeje on using poetry as a way to connect with others.
As a non-binary person, Driscoll has made it a rule to write about things that come from a personal experience, they write about issues revolving around transphobia, identity, body image and being accepted in general.
They took part in Word Spell, a showcase and open mic event for women and non-binary persons, as a feature performance. Driscoll says after their oldest brother died, writing became a way for them to cope with the circumstances; then it escalated to writing about anything, especially ‘absurd stuff that upset you.’
Ever since they were a child, Driscoll has been into theatre and performance, making it easy for them to imagine what it’s like to hear their work being presented to an audience. “It went from me journalling to me writing creatively.”
Driscoll performs in poetry competitions, fundraisers and open mic events. They say they love the idea of a poetry slam because LGBTQ comes a lot in it, so it is great to have a place where this community comes together to inspire and be there for each other as well as provide sources and support to one another.
Driscoll attended Brock University as a political science student and now works in public administration.
They have been part of Spoken Word Canada, a national organization that holds two festivals a year; the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and Canadian Individual Poetry Slam in Vancouver.
“Regularly performing in slam and qualifying, you get the opportunity to perform on a national level,” they state, “I had the chance to perform in different cities that I wouldn’t have the chance to if it weren’t for the slam.”