SPOTLIGHT.
COURTNEY AMA STODDART
INTRODUCTION
Born and raised in Edinburgh, acclaimed Scottish-Caribbean poet and performer Courtney Stoddart has challenged and inspired a landscape of people with her work.
Focusing on racism, imperialism and challenging the corporate state, she writes with the intention to combat the dominant power structures of our times, intertwining social, political and historical discussion into rhyme and rhythm.
She started performing as recently as 2019 and the critical acclaim she’s received has not only been on a national level but also internationally. She has performed at venues such as the Traverse Theatre, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Leith Theatre and HOME Manchester.
Notably, in June 2019 Courtney took part in the BBC Radio 1xtra and BBC Contains Strong Language Festival Word’s First Talent Scheme, making it to the final 12, a remarkable feat for some, but for those that recognise her talent, it was only the beginning.
She was selected to be published in an anthology by Own It! London and edited by Jude Yawson, co-writer of Stormzy’s Rise Up: The Story So Far. Later that year Courtney was chosen to appear at a FLUP, a popular literary festival in Rio de Janeiro. Not limited to the poetic form, Courtney has written articles for Black Ballad and Gal-Dem.
Her performative talents also point to other creative spheres, and she has featured in theatrical productions, including Lament For Sheku Bayoh at the Lyceum Theatre during Edinburgh International Festival 2019, 2020 and 2021 as well as Memory is a Weapon, directed by Firdoze Bulbulia.
Having facilitated poetry workshops for organisations such as Intercultural Youth Scotland and Glasgow Women’s Library and running a performance mentorship programme with Scottish BAME writers network, her desire and passion to inspire others is clear.
In February of 2020, Courtney headlined at the Scottish BAME writers network x Inky Fingers first collaboration event at the Lighthouse bookshop in Edinburgh. She has appeared on a panel at the Edinburgh International Book Festival thus amplifying her already noteworthy CV.
During November 2020, Courtney was featured on Damian Barr’s Big Scottish Book Club on BBC Scotland and published in Neu Reekie’s #Neu Voices. As of 2021, she has been announced as an Ignite Fellow with the Scottish Book Trust which promises to be another incredible project from an already stalwart figure.
INTERVIEW
How did you get into your current practice?
I started writing as a form of cathartic release around 8 years ago and I didn’t even consider it to be ‘poetry’ until a friend described it as such. I always loved reading when I was a child and I think that definitely influenced the way I chose to express myself. I find words and language incredibly interesting – the way humans choose to communicate is so fascinating to me, it’s so varied yet has such similarities at the same time. I never saw myself as a performer as I was and still can be naturally shy and quite introverted at times, so it wasn’t until my friend Shaheeda Sinkler (Nova Scotia the Truth) suggested I perform my poetry at her album launch in 2019 that I even considered it was something I could do professionally. After that performance, I kept getting offers for more gigs and it kind of snow-balled from there.
What themes do you tend to interrogate in your work?
I would say that I’m devotee to truth, whether that be my own personal truth or that of the collective. I love to look into subjects which are outside of what is considered ‘mainstream’, the topics which are often shied away from — that very much infiltrates the way I write and the subjects I pay attention too.
What project are you most proud of having worked on so far and why?
I am probably most proud of featuring in Hannah Lavery’s ‘The Lament for Sheku Bayoh’’. Not only did I never in my wildest dreams expect to end up on stage at the Lyceum theatre within a few months of my performing career, but more importantly it has been the greatest honour to shed light onto Sheku’s case and be a part (however small) of acknowledging his life and the great loss suffered by his family and wider community. His case speaks to so much of what requires examining about the Scottish cultural landscape, but also about the impunity of the police and the dynamics of state hierarchy.
What advice would you have for creatives of colour looking to get involved in the creative industries?
The only advice I can give is to follow your own inner guidance, go with what resonates with you and be authentic, speak from your heart. So many people try to imitate others rather than expressing their own uniqueness. I think we have an in-built detector which can sense authenticity, you can tell if someone isn’t expressing that, it’s far more exciting to see someone embracing who they truly are rather than trying to be a carbon copy of someone else.
What are you currently working on?
Performance has taken such a precedence in my life for the past two years and I’m taking a bit of a step back in regards to that being at the forefront of my existence. I’m mostly working on personal projects, various commissions and investing my time and energy into learning more about healing therapies, which is a huge passion of mine.
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Please note: Photo Credits - Kat Gollock