Q&A With A Poetry Star

TATIANA FIGUEROA RAMIREZ

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the mainland United States, Tatiana Figueroa Ramirez graduated with a B.A. in English Literature and is a VONA Voices alumna, having worked with Willie Perdomo and Danez Smith. She currently performs, facilitates workshops, and hosts events in the DC area, having previously done so across the United States and the Dominican Republic. You can read her work in The Acentos Review, among other publications and find her working with DC SCORES as the Associate Program Manager, Creative Writing. Tatiana is the author of Coconut Curls y Café con Leche (2019) and Despojo (2020).

Check out Tatiana's poem!

A Pillaging

My mouth a rich cave, carved in mahogany, lined with pearls & stemmed by rubies & rose quartz prayers. A land once untouched, flourishing with its own rhythms & hymns. Now a property Europe tears apart limb by limb to claim a corner. Spanish. English. Foreign. White attempting to excavate. Wanting to repaint & leave barren a fruitful natural wonder. My tongue splits across an ocean. Across continents. Across borders created to pull a body into pieces. It is unsure which salts will grow best in a vacated black hole, hoping crystals & precious gems will remember how to root in this earth again.

What got you started writing poetry, and what inspires you to keep going today?

I first started writing poetry as a form of self-care. I was very quiet and shy when I was younger, so it was really hard for me to express myself. However, a lot was still happening around me, so I needed to find a healthy outlet. I found writing to be natural for me and I enjoyed the liberty and rhythm found in poetry. As I continued to write poetry, I realized how much it was helping me, but also how much I enjoyed it. I discovered poets who I could relate to, who looked like me, who spoke like me, and who lived like me. But I have to admit it wasn’t until I started performing and attending performances that I decided to stay in poetry, specifically because of the community. The poetry world, particularly in DC, is warm and loving. It is empowering and thoughtful. It creates impact and I could not give that up. I remember a young woman coming up to me after one of my first performances to explain to me how she saw herself in my poem and how grateful she was for that representation. At that moment, I knew my poetry was not just about me. It was much bigger than me. It was about each person who has struggled to see themselves represented as their authentic selves and I had to keep adding to that representation.

Many people get nervous when they go up on stage to perform, what do you do to stay calm and charismatic when you perform?

There are a few things that help me. For one, I like to mingle with folks. It makes me feel like I know the crowd a bit more and it creates a safer space for me. It also helps me be more interactive while I’m on stage if I’ve already been interactive before doing so. Another thing that helps is being prepared. I like to arrive early and know which poems I’m planning on reading, so I know what to expect and I can feel a bit more relaxed. During the show, I also work hard to pay attention and show my support. This helps me not only be more charismatic and interactive, but it also helps me circle back to other performances from earlier in the night and add to the positive, communal energy. When it comes to rituals, one thing I learned from a friend was to use rose oil, drink lots of water, and take deep breaths. I still do those things to this day.

What inspired you to work with poet-athletes as a part of DC SCORES?

Since I started working fresh out of high school, I have dedicated my career to working in the nonprofit sector with a focus on working with marginalized and underserved youth. Most of that work has been in the arts and education sectors, so DC SCORES marries those interests of mine very well. Before working full-time with DC SCORES, I actually had the opportunity to work as a poetry specialist with some of our poetathletes and I loved it. Young people can be so inspiring and reenergizing that it’s hard not to want to work with them. Plus, I really believe in the impact of arts education on our youth and I appreciate the organization’s dedication to that growth as well.

What are some of your favorite topics to write about?

I love writing about an individual’s magic and power, particularly coming from the lens of someone who the system does not cater to. I also love writing about the environments that surround me. A lot of my poetry will reference the beach, flowers, and other parts of nature with some special nods to city life. I also tend to write a lot about my family, especially my mom and grandmothers. I think they along with being Puerto Rican helped shape a large part of my identity, so it’s almost impossible to not write about them.

What advice do you have for America SCORES poet-athletes?

My advice would be to remain as authentically you as possible. That means doing what you enjoy, standing your ground against things you disagree with, being proud of who you are, showing yourself kindness, and being willing to learn. There is only one you in this world.

Which poem did you share with us and why did you choose it?

The poem is titled “A Pillaging” and I chose it because I think it represents a lot of what I lived as a bilingual person and what a lot of folks go through as multilingual or multicultural folks. There is a certain pressure the world places on us to change who we are according to their standards; however, there is a tenacity to hold on to our roots and who we are. The beautiful, yet sad part is that I think most young people can relate to feeling this pressure even if not in the form of being multilingual. But it’s important to remember we really don’t have to lose ourselves at all. 