Role of a Poet Laureate: chronicler of events, ambassador of literary arts, reflector of a city’s life.
There are few writers more suited for this task than Titilope Sonuga.
As the author of three stunning poetry collections and founder of the Breath In Poetry Collective, Titilope has had a profound impact on the local literary scene. Her words reverberate across the city, from open mics and high school auditoriums to pints of Kind ice cream.
“The Edmonton literary community is the genesis of my story,” says Titilope. Formerly educated as an engineer, she began writing poems as a hobby and sharing them at local open mic nights. “I realized fairly early on that performance was where my magic was,” she recalls. At the time, Edmonton’s writing scene favoured more traditional forms, specifically poetry that lived primarily on the page. When Titilope formed Breath In Poetry, she saw an opportunity to create a space for poets on the margins—racialized poets, performance poets, experimental poets—to come together.
Overall, she is grateful for the reach and influence her current role has provided across various communities. Over the past year, she has been invited to speak at schools across Canada, reaching over 900 students with her workshops. Titilope remembers falling in love with poetry in high school and emphasizes how empowering a high-school visit from a spoken word poet could have been to her younger self: “My head would have blown off!” She also notes that spoken word poetry is often a useful teaching tool, and she’s loved sharing her passions with younger audiences. “This style of poetry helps [students] see poetry beyond the textbook, to see it as something that’s theirs,” she says. “That’s how I feel about poetry generally—it belongs to all of us.”
The importance of community and making poetry accessible are major priorities in Titilope’s work. But if there’s one word that embodies her time as Poet Laureate, it’s tenderness. “Tenderness is a priority for me simply because, as Black women in the world, tenderness and softness aren’t necessarily things that we are afforded generously,” Titilope says. “There are ideas of strong, resilient, and powerful Black women. But I’ve been thinking a lot about Blackness beyond resilience and survival—more softness, more tenderness, more gentle moments of being a human being. So, when I’m writing, I’m leaning towards that as its own act of resistance, to choose the sweet little things in a hard world.”
As a part of her Poet Laureate work, Titilope created “Tenderness Edmonton,” an online
project capturing stories of the small things that kept Edmontonians going during the pandemic. She recalls the strong sense of community amidst hardship that was present early on, all over the world. “I remember videos of people in Italy who were hanging off their balconies and singing to each other,” she says. “I was really moved by the ways we adapt and are always reaching for each other.” This project allowed her to reach everyday people, who even shared everyday pet photos with her. However, the ongoing nature of the pandemic continues to shift things. “What I hoped for was a floodgate of relief and sharing, but the sharing has been a little bit reluctant,” Titilope says. “Are people ready for tenderness yet? Or is it still really hard?”
With one year under her belt, what does the second year of Titilope’s Poet Laureate tenure hold? An exciting return of the Breath In Poetry Collective, potentially another collaboration with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and, most importantly, more chances to be among Edmontonians. “I’m really hopeful for more opportunities to connect in person with community. I’m excited for the chance to be with my people, sharing the love I have for telling stories.”
Read Titilope’s most recent book This is How We Disappear, available from Write Bloody North now. Follow Titilope & Tenderness Edmonton on Instagram: @titilope @tendernessyeg
This article by Kristen Thomas appears in the September/October 2022 issue of Info Edmonton Magazine.
