GOLD Council member Emma Binder ’15 sat down with Ravina Wadhwani ’15, a poet and mental health professional based in Los Angeles, to talk about her life after Clark.  

What have you been up to since you graduated?
I’ve been so fortunate that poetry found me after I graduated from Clark in 2015. I started attending the Boston open mic scene after I left Worcester, and ever since then I fell in love with the idea of a space where one could spit their entire truth, not hold back, and uphold the multitudes they live in. 

I didn’t start off as someone who learned to use my voice. Growing up on the island of St. Thomas felt at times like a bubble of familiarity. It wasn’t until I came to Clark when I first started speaking out using my voice. Because of spaces like Sisters in Stride, and being around a bigger melting pot of cultures, I began putting together the pieces of who I am and how I see myself. I came to Los Angeles to further my career in mental health after earning my masters degree from Boston University, and I’ve found that investing in personal outlets of expression helped me in navigating a newly found post-graduate world.  

Why poetry?
With poetry, I truly felt a calling. The whole experience of being a poet – from writing, to creating, to publishing, to performing – is all highly spiritual. All of my art comes from my truth, and it allows me to understand that we would be nothing without the lessons we learn from our pain, our joys, the rage, love, heartbreak, adventures, and the things we put our energy into, as well as the things that feed us in our core. For me, my career in poetry has taught me that vulnerability and being open with our truths, has a ripple effect, and in turn can allow us all to heal in a collective way. When I dove into poetry – and especially being on stages – I realized how powerful it was to be in front of a mic and spit your truth no matter how delicate, vulnerable, taboo, or risqué the topic was.

My art is a mirror of my journey of learning the world as a “first”. A first generation woman of color, the first in my immediate family to pursue higher education twice and the first to openly practice my creativity on a regular basis.

I heard you also had a book of your poetry published?
Yes, my book Yellow won the Long Beach CA best poetry collection of 2021. It’s a collection of pieces translated from the heart. It is a celebration of growth, shedding, healing, and ultimately, all things love. I’ve also had my book placed in the oldest library in India, and my books have made their way all over the world.  

How has your psychology/mental health background impacted your poetry?
I believe my career in mental health has hugely defined my way of seeing the world in my poetry. You’ll find themes of healing, being, accepting, loving, resiliency, and so many other micro journeys within the world of human experience. Because of my background in psychology and my experience as a spoken word artist; I was so honored to be chosen to write and perform a poem live, for the United Nations in 2021 where I was able to use my education on the inequities we face and channel that into poetry. I was privileged to use my voice to speak out using poetry in a way that mirrored the United Nations’ (UN Population Fund Latin America) mission of promoting gender equality and empowering women, girls and young people to take control of their bodies and their futures.  

In 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, I founded a poetry workshop called Writing As Healing which is an immersive writing experience with a mindfulness and mental health focus. I find that this space has grown exponentially and continues to be a healing centered writing experience with nearly 200+ attendees to date which has strengthened my mission to combine the forces of writing, poetry, and mental health.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned since you graduated?
The most important thing I have learned since I graduated has been to invest in yourself, your time, your energy, and the quality of your art. Don’t settle for anything less than putting something out there that truly mirrors you.  

Ravina also wanted to give a shoutout to a few organizations including Never Speak Long Beach; The Community Literature Initiative community, as well as World Stage Press and the Sims Library of Poetry, who have all allowed her to be herself and let her practice her craft.