It was Quanisha Patterson’s words that saw her gaining a spot as one of the ten winners of the Guyana Talent Search Competition. The 19-year-old spoken-word poet created an undeniable presence on the show and turned many viewers into fans.
Quanisha is ecstatic with her win, as there were times on the show when she did not trust her ability. “I am beyond elated not only because I was chosen as a winner but because I was given the platform to showcase my talent and help to change the view of poetry worldwide while being a voice for the voiceless. It also feels mentally liberating because there were moments in the competition that I did not believe in myself but now I have more confidence and I’m freer from the limitations of my mind,” she said. She added that it was also the feedback from the judges, viewers, friends and family that made her view her place in the competition differently. After a few airings, she began to see herself as a frontrunner and if not, she was prepared to fight tooth and nail to finish as the winner.
Every performance, Quanisha said, was an original piece she wrote herself. Initially, her idea was to present poems she had already written so that viewers could better understand her personality, and she followed through with this for the first half of the competition. However, in preparation for the semi-finals, “there were certain elements that I wanted to add that I never had the opportunity to,” she said, so she went ahead and penned another masterpiece for the competition. “…Superwoman…was…the first piece I wrote for the competition and performing that piece was literally a dream come through because I was able to showcase my creativity as a spoken word poet and also live that theatrical dream,” she said.
“Writing for me is very cathartic so a lot of my pieces are either my experiences or my views on societal issues so that, coupled with my creativity and self-motivation enabled me to persevere and complete the pieces in a timely manner.
“There are many remarkable poets [who] inspire me tremendously but just to mention a few: the Queen herself, Maya Angelou [was] definitely an inspiration for me because of her poise and excellent work. Another inspiration would definitely be Toni Morrison… She’s known primarily for writing novels [but] her poetic writing, superb diction… the legacy she has left behind! One of my favourite contemporary poets is Rudy Francisco who inspires me in spoken word because of his effortless and memorable performances and poetic writing as well. Finally, one of my local inspirations would be Jaime SuRu Mayers, known as “SuRu” because of his creativity, poetic flow and passion not only for performing, but for poetry in general. And I saw this firsthand during a free poetry workshop he hosted approximately five years ago that I was a member of at Bishops’ High.
“Poetry is indescribably beautiful; it is the expression of encrypted thoughts through the soul. It is the way we find beauty in words through genuine expression and it is therapeutic and cathartic adding colour to every page it graces. Poetry is everything to me, it is the opium of my soul.”
An introvert, writing became the ideal way for Quanisha to conquer her low self-esteem issues. It was a habit she formed about six years ago. She wrote poems whenever she wanted to offload her thoughts. Social issues are among her interests as once she is writing on them, the words flow. Sometimes she finishes one of her pieces within a day, other times they take weeks to complete; some are still incomplete but she is in no hurry. Poems can always be tweaked at one time or another and the poet never likes to rush her pieces.
While her poetry began about six years ago, Quanisha has been writing as far back as she could remember. She was the child with the longest essays in class who was always willing to participate in any art form. This included her being an active member of the school choir and learning to play some instruments including the drums, guitar, recorder and steelpan.
For someone as selfless as Quanisha, volunteering is a huge part of her life which saw her being involved in coastal cleanups, mentoring other creatives through Kupanda Sisters, Sunbeam Career Development, and the Blessed Girls Organization. She has been given leadership roles where she is the President and Vice-President of the Law Society, Head of Creative Writing and Public Relations Officer of the Arts Club at her school.
About a year after she began writing poems, she was exposed to theatre arts which provided her with the opportunity to perform her first spoken word at the National Cultural Centre in 2017 during a production called ‘Theatre Reloaded’. It was this experience that made her fascinated with spoken word poetry. She noted that back then she did not think the genre was as huge as it is today so she spent a great deal of her time watching spoken word poetry on YouTube, perfecting her craft. It seemed to have worked in her favour as she got a lot of fans.
Throughout the show, most of her poems highlighted women’s empowerment. She shared that she believes in equality and that women are challenged in many ways. “I believe empowering women is necessary because of the challenges women face such as the glass ceiling, sexual
harassment, unequal access to opportunities and stereotypes due to patriarchy. With all of this and more, women should be empowered and protected to increase their confidence and self-esteem as well as to foster a sense of identity while gender norms are overridden. This isn’t to say that men should not be uplifted also, but as a woman with firsthand experience of what women experience, I feel the need to represent and empower my fellow women,” she shared.
The Guyana Talent Show winner said it was a challenge for her to keep up with mentorship, rehearsals and practising for rounds almost every week as she was preparing to sit the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination. Competing in the show, she said, took a lot of sacrifices but she was not going to back down from any opportunity.
Reflecting on that journey, Quanisha said, “I learnt so much from the competition and I am indeed grateful for the experience but most of all, the competition has reinforced what Michelle Obama rightfully said, ‘You work hard for what you want in life’. When opportunities come, it is important for us to run with them and do the best that we possibly can because we don’t know where it is going to take us in the future. From a poetic perspective, I do believe I left the competition as a better spoken word artist due to the mentorship sessions with Mr Mark Luke Edwards that made me more confident, determined and disciplined.”
Her favourite part of the show, she said, was when it was announced that all of the finalists were winners. The place, she reminisced, was filled with ten times the joy, pride and relief. The idea of ten winners was more magical than that of one, she posited.
She plans on using her entire cash prize towards her tuition. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports is yet to follow through with presenting the prizes, which she opined, may be owing to the ministry being caught up with the distribution of cash grants for students. However, the word is that the prize-giving ceremony will be happening soon.
Quanisha said she was happy she had the opportunity to perform in the show. She believes that Guyana is heading in the right direction when it comes to the arts, pointing out the ministry’s show was a platform to expose new talent, as well as the recent Church’s Chicken talent competition. While she does believe more can be done in the sector, she is pleased to see that those in the arts are not forgotten.
Speaking of support and inspiration, Quanisha said, “My mother is my biggest inspiration because she is a lot of what I aspire to be – driven, determined, independent, bold, confident, beautiful, hardworking and phenomenal. She motivates me to be the best version of myself and helps me in any way she can. Furthermore, my younger brother is also an inspiration to me because he is literally my best friend and whenever I feel as though I’m at rock bottom, he enables me to persevere. As it relates to my friends, two of my closest friends inspire me: Cassie Adams [Guyana Talent Search winner] and Kesann Charles. These are two powerful, educated and driven women that radiate pure positivity. Other persons that inspire me would include: Miss Providence Reid, my deputy headmistress, my aunt, Denise Holder and two women that own two amazing nonprofit organizations that I’m a member of: Dr Anana Phifer-Derilhomme and Miss Cindy Charles. I’d love to take this time to thank everyone for all their love and support and encourage them to make their dreams reality. Rome wasn’t built in a day; Make the first step and reaching your goals and aspirations will become easier and easier! Continue to have faith, for it is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1) and remember, the only place you could go when you’re at rock bottom is up!”
Quanisha’s appearance in the show has opened doors for her to perform at other events. So far she has performed at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports’ Emancipation Contest on August 1. She has also performed at a poetry workshop and at the Ministry of Education cash grant distribution at the Bishops’ High. She is also booked for several other collaborations and projects, one of which she will be collaborating on with fellow contestant, Cassie Adams.
But, there is more. Quanisha is also an entrepreneur and is at the moment revamping her online bakery, ‘The Q-Plan’. She also has plans to open an online boutique, ‘The Q-Glam’. Quanisha is currently attached to ‘Votsee Magazine’, an online publication, as a writer. She has co-authored a poetry compilation for the magazine titled ‘Trapped in Thought’ with Tarik Braithwaite and two anthologies: The 4C’s Anthology and Songs of Peace: World’s Biggest Anthology of Contemporary Poetry. She also manages her family’s business Coolsquare. The writer is also working on publishing her own book soon.
With all that, there is usually no time for this Gemini to indulge in hobbies. However, when she can, she likes to read, meditate, organize herself or go for a drive to clear her head. Quanisha is concerned about the legacy she hopes to leave and shared, “As Maya Angelou posited ‘If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased’. There’s no doubt that I want to leave a legacy. I want to leave a positive versatile legacy having many accomplishments and breaking barriers no one has ever broken before. It is my dream to milk the most out of life and inspire others to do the same. I want to be one of the most celebrated authors and poets and I want my books to change the literary world. I want to be a global hero remembered not only for my achievements but for the way I would’ve positively impacted people and for my character.” To keep up with Quanisha and all she sets out to do, follow her on Facebook at Quanisha Patterson or Quanisha Patterson Poetry and on Instagram @The_360_degrees_leader.
