We were lucky to catch up with Italy Ja’rae Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Italy Ja’rae, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Many people don’t know but Spoken word and poetry are relatively new in my life. Growing up I’ve always written songs, amateur screenplays, and unknowingly poetry. It wasn’t until 2021, when poetry came into my life. Late 2021, my family and I had been displaced due to Hurricane Ida which resulted in our lives changing drastically. With our lives growing more hectic, I compromised my mental health for the emotional well-being and security of my family. As the school year progressed, my drama teacher at the time, Sandra Toll, informed us about this national poetry competition called “Poetry Out Loud”. The competition required youth to memorize works and recite them, essentially turning out to be a literary-acting competition. Long-story short, this competition became my emotional outlet. Through the beautiful metaphors and stories of poetic geniuses before me, I was able to finally pour myself into something rather than sinking in my life circumstances. To my surprise, I advanced from the school wide competition, won the state championship, and advanced to nationals. Simultaneously, I started to write my own poetry. With the exposure I had gained from my advancement in the competition, came opportunities for me to perform my own work. I went on to perform one of my pieces “Unlike Nature” at Dr.Cornel West’s event at the Count Basie Theater. I remember receiving a overwhelming applause, going backstage and West saying to me “You have a very powerful voice”. From there, I took it upon myself to continue to use it to advocate for social issues/stigmas that I’m passionate about.

Italy Ja’rae, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Ever since, Dr. Cornel West said that to me, something was sparked within my spirit. West himself, being a huge advocate for equality, inspired me to use my “powerful voice” to advocate for what I was passionate about. It wasn’t until I came to New York, to embark on my studies at NYU that I found a solid poetry community. I started to attend open mics, slams, and poetry events to use my voice. The community is a sacred group of artists that I hold dearly to my heart as we use our gift as an echo for those who have been silenced. Slowly I began to actually find my voice and my mission as an artist which is derivative of James Baldwin, to serve as a mirror to society. With that being said, my works touches on the distinct experiences that are enabled by systemic racism, breaking the toxic stigma around mental health, the key to unlocking grief, and many more to come!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In late 2022, I lost my grandma who was a pivotal figure in my life. I never grew up with my parents so she raised me; instilling spiritual wellness, layered wisdom, and joy into me. Grieving (and still) that big of a loss days before I officially became an adult was a huge hit for me. Everything I do in terms of my art has always been inspired by some piece of her but for such a long time I couldn’t write a piece about her. I think there was this underlying fear of writing poetry about her because it became a very direct way of approaching the grief which was very emotionally heavy. Grief takes you to very dark spaces and I’d say is the one emotion that is truly helpless because there’s a longing that can’t be physically reached. As the grief ate me alive some days, it felt like there was no choice but to write. This time, not about her but to her.This resulted in the creation of my piece called “Sheryl’s Wish” which is a spoken word piece that follows a conversation with my grandma about how we had humans should approach grief. This piece didn’t mark the finish line for grieving but continues to heal me when I perform it. Continuously, when I perform this piece, people have come up to me afterwards thanking me with tears in their eyes. That is my form of resilience, using my pain to heal others.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

In all honesty, the answer is short—by paying your artists. I’ve had several experiences now, shared alongside peers in the poetry community where our work goes unappreciated by organizations as they compromise our financial security for social media exposure. Within other occupations or fields, individuals are paid because their work is seen as an act of service. Poetry is an act of service. The way we make words touch people is an act of service. I don’t think society fully grasp art as an act of service because it doesn’t fit within the capitalistic frame. However, that song that got you through your breakup is an act of service. That mural that makes someone’s day on the way to work is an act of service. That saxophone player who’s tunes heal apart of you when you go to a jazz club is doing you an act of service. Therefore, if an organization craves the specific work of a particular artists they should also pay them for their act of service.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @italysblur
• Youtube: @italysblur

Image Credits

(Both Picture with brick background)
Cred: Michael Gebhart @michaelgebhart10 // Sakura Series @sakura.series

(Picture on film set) Shooting for Taurean Houston’s “Umoja” short film. Shots by Chase Harris @chasesgallery.