We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tamra Cosby a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tamra, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
In April 2024, I received an email from the Public Housing Community Fund for an Artist-in Residence Open Call. I was intrigued by the programs name, From Roots to Arts, and its purpose to highlight culture and heritage of residents in public housing at one community center in each of the five boroughs. I became excited when I saw that the residency location for Queens was where I live. Confusion filled my mind because I didn’t understand how I received this email. I didn’t recall ever signing up to be on an emailing list or having any communication with the Public Housing Community Fund. However, receiving the email wasn’t a coincidence to me. The year prior I felt a desire to serve my community with the gift of poetry that God blessed me with. One afternoon on my way to work as a Direct Support Provider, I spoke to the Assistant Director of the community center at the time, about wanting to facilitate free poetry workshops. A year later the Open Call felt aligned and I believed this is what I’m supposed to do.
After attending the information session on zoom and reading into my community’s wants in the site summary, I began to feel discouraged. I convinced myself that I was out of my league and that my community doesn’t want poetry. The more I tried to run away from submitting an application, the more confirmation I received to not let this opportunity pass me by. When I reread the residents’ feedback in the site summary, I realized that spoken word was wanted even if it wasn’t in the top three interests listed. My neighbor Ms.Marvia would continually affirm that I was called for such a time as this. In May 2024, I took an uncomfortable leap of faith on the submission deadline day. I stood up to my doubts and fears by submitting my application.
Taking the risk of stepping out of my comfort zone and into faith was worth it! I went from being the top three interviewed out of 30 applicants to becoming the Artist-in-Residence. In August 2024, I met the other four Artist-in-Residence at orientation. A couple of weeks later we were featured on Pix11 news and Monica Makes It Happen. Present day I am still taking a risk in this residency by not shrinking back to what was comfortable and allowing myself to welcome the beauty of what will come out of it, not just for me, but for my community. Although I allowed the death of my step-mom and my feelings of inferiority to delay my planning and execution of poetry/spoken word programming, I am looking forward to programming beginning in February 2025.
Tamra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a published poet and spoken word artist who is currently the Public Housing Community Fund From Roots to Arts Artisit-in-Residence of Astoria Houses. I am a member and a bomb squad 303 mentee of the Harlem Bomb Shelter, a poetry and literary arts organization that hosts a monthly open mic, poetry showcases, poetry workshops, bomb squad mentorship program, and collaborates with other organizations for community events in Harlem. Two of my poems are published in The Lit Mag, LaGuardia Community College’s literary magazine and I recently became published in a Black-owned Brooklyn newspaper called Our Time Press. I believe my interests of reading and writing songs as a kid combined with writing raps in my late teen years, were a bridge that led me to poetry. Poetry began as documentations of my thoughts and observations. It also began as a therapeutic release just for me, not the world and me. It helped me start facing suppressed sexual trauma and family drama. In 2017, I started sharing my pieces on social media as I spiraled into a psychotic breakdown of psychosis. In 2019, Poetry started to shift my life while I was looking for community and desiring to grow as a writer. A poetry ministry found me and led me to Christ. Fall 2019, I started a poetry course in college that would be the catalyst to where I am today as a poet. I had a great professor who saw potential in me and highly encouraged that I change my major from psychology to creative writing. My final in the poetry course became one of my published poems in 2020. During the pandemic I found a community of poets on Instagram that I am still connected with today. I attended different writing workshops and continued to exercise my pen. I considered myself as a page poet, but once I started sharing my poems more I was told that I am a spoken word artist.
I have performed with Haus of Expression for NYC Poetry Festival in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, I performed Off-Broadway at The Majorie S. Deane Little Theater for Karma Comes Before: Fear Free and at Harlem Week with the Harlem Bomb Shelter. I aspire to release my first poetry collection within a year or two.
I provide performance services and custom written pieces.
My vulnerability, boldness, and accountability to share my personal experiences without shame or being re-traumatized, sets me apart from other poets. I am most proud of myself for not giving up when I didn’t get the support I wanted from my parents. Present day my parents look forward to supporting me any chance they get. They didn’t understand or see the value before.
The main thing I want readers, supporters, and potential clients to know is that Jesus saves! There is so much beauty on the other side of letting go and letting God handle what is out of your control. Serve others more than looking to be served. Share your testimony because you never know whose life you could inspire or heal. Forgive yourself and others. You can’t heal what you don’t confess, suppressing does more harm than protecting. Learning how to love yourself first is a journey, it starts by accepting God’s unwavering love for you. What you’ve been through is not your identity!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is hearing that my work has left a positive impact on someone. Knowing that I am a vessel of influence reveals to me that everything I create is bigger than me, even when I may feel inadequate. We’re pouring into each other and I think that’s what art is all about!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I don’t have to write a poem everyday and I don’t have to write a masterpiece in one sitting. I struggled with thinking that I had to write a poem everyday to become a better poet, until the late, great, Nikki Giovanni said something along the lines of not having to write everyday, live and something will spark out of your days. I journal more than I write poems sometimes because everything doesn’t need to be a poem. Expecting to write a masterpiece in one sitting takes away from the editing process. Sometimes people do create masterpieces without editing needed, I have once or twice. However, that is not always my outcome. When I expect to create a finished work in one day I overthink and may not even start. My mentors help me embrace the editing process by giving me a different perspective on how I can show more than tell. Whether it’s through adding different literary devices or incorporating senses, I am continuously learning that editing isn’t something to dread.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamranottamara/
- Other: Poem Publications
From Roots to Arts news report
https://pix11.com/news/local-news/nycha-developments-get-3-million-for-free-arts-programs/
Image Credits
Karma Comes Before: Fear Free photos, Too Much & Extra Open mic photo captured by Michael Isaiah
2023 NYC Poetry Festival photos captured by Nick Lewis
MicFlex Rooftop Poetry Night photo captured by Kevin Aime