This workshop is inspired by the quote by Sana Dabbas, “and if I asked you to name all the things that you love, how long would it take for you to name yourself?”, this workshop will be focused on the romanticization of OURSELF, our greatest muse.

Namitha Rathinappillai (she/they) is a queer, 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. They are a two-time Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW) team member with Urban Legends Poetry Collective, and they published their first chapbook titled ‘Dirty Laundry’ with Battleaxe Press in November of 2018. In 2019, they won the RBC Youth Ottawa Spirit of the Capital Award for Arts and Culture for their work in the Ottawa spoken word community. Namitha’s poem, “Unprecedented Times'', was commissioned by and aired on CBC in March 2021. She was a finalist for the 2021 Ottawa Arts Council Emerging Artist Award. You can find more at namitharathinappillai.com.

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