For Ottawa’s Brandon Wint, poetry wasn’t just a choice, he believes it was his destiny.
“Everything in my life at that point had convinced me that I had an uncommon gift of writing, articulation and perception,” Wint said. “When the opportunity to step on stage presented itself, it wasn’t difficult for me to convince myself that my words were of value.”
Wint, 23, grew up in Vaughan, Ont., but relocated to Ottawa to study English at Carleton in 2006. He said he started getting into slam poetry three years ago because people in the Ottawa International Slam Poetry community inspired him.
Whether it’s a small poetry circle or the national slam poetry finals, Wint said the goal of his poetry has always been the same: to tell people’s stories.
This year, he said he’s taking a break from school to pursue his dreams as an artist full-time, which has allowed him to be even more dedicated to improving his technique.
“I’m at the point where every day that I wake up, one of the first questions I ask myself is ‘What am I going to write today?’ or ‘How am I going to invest in my artistic self today?’” Wint said.
He said he’s also looking at teaching people how to tell stories through poetry.
The Bill Ellis Centre for Mature and Part Time Students and the Carleton University Students’ Association announced Jan. 8 they will be sponsoring his eight-week poetry writing workshop at Carleton.
Wint is also part of The Recipe, a slam poetry collective comprised of four national slam poetry champions.
“When we perform as The Recipe, the love that we express is not only love that’s oriented around a life perspective but it’s love for each other,” Wint said.
When Wint performs as an individual, he said the experience is completely different.
“Perhaps I give myself more license to be just myself,” Wint said.
For Wint, it’s more about bringing people in and sharing his personal experiences, he said. Wint suffers from cerebral palsy but he said he doesn’t let that stop him.
“Having a physical disability and possessing the gifts of poetry and articulation that I have are connected in my destiny,” Wint said.
One of his poems, “Poetry in Motion,” articulates Wint’s disposition on his physical disability. “My favourite poems are the ones that tell stories and everybody has a story worthy of being told,” reads the first line.
Wint said he draws inspiration from everything and everyone around him. He will be performing some of his new poems Jan. 15 at the Elmdale Tavern.
One of the poems he’s currently working on will focus on the “concept of home” and contrast living in Canada with his Guatemalan roommate’s own experiences.
“I may never smell fresh cinnamon on an Indian woman’s brown fingers or see Guatemalan plums dangle like I’ve seen earring on the lobes of rural trees. There are places I know where frost coats the inside of lungs,” reads the first line of the poem.
In the future, Wint said he sees himself touring and working on an upcoming album, but anything is possible.
“If I decide to pursue something earnestly, I can acquire whatever dream it is that I wish to obtain,” Wint said. “I see myself wherever my energy intends me to be.”
