Delivered powerful poem on race, class distinction.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: At the January 1 inauguration of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, a poetry reading by local youths introduced a formidable new talent to the world: eighteen year-old Ramya Ramana.
A native of the New York City area, Ramana delivered a powerful rendition of a poem she wrote entitled “New York City,” about race and class distinction. The poem was universally well received, with several in attendance calling it the highlight of the inauguration proceedings.
Ramana grew up in a largely Caucasian area, and was teased and bullied throughout her younger years for her complexion. Bounced around through several schools, Ramana was not even sure that she would graduate grade school, and faced several social and personal problems on her road to becoming a young adult.
Rather than let all that get to her, Ramana decided to channel all that into a creative outlet, choosing poetry. The apparently arbitrary choice proved to be worthwhile, as Ramana now has several accolades under her belt for her poetic skills.
Most recently, she was awarded the 2014 Youth Poet Laureate of New York City, a prestigious honor that essentially names her the best young poet in the entire city. Additionally, she was awarded a full scholarship to St. John’s University, in Queens, NY, by winning the New York Knicks Poetry Slam, an annual event held by the professional basketball team to awarded outstanding young poets.
Her poetry spans a wide range of topics, but is unified under a theme of social consciousness. Some of Ramana’s most well-known poems deal with issues like poverty and civic engagement. One poem that has garnered a lot of attention is entitled “Miss America,” and discusses Ramana’s feelings about the racism Nina Davuluri faced when she won the Miss America crown last year. Her reading of the poem can be viewed below.
So what’s next for Ramana? She is currently in her first semester at St. John’s, where she is studying Government, Philosophy, and Politics. She is also collaborating with Indian American artist Asha Sing, the first desi woman to ever have a single hit in the Billboard charts, on a series of gospel-related music. Highly religious, Ramana attributes much of her success to divine intervention.
Her victory at the Youth Poet Laureate also gives her the opportunity to pen a book, which Ramana has indicated she will use to highlight more social problems and hopes will inspire young people to celebrate their inner beauty and speak up for themselves.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com