Nastassia Aikman has been named the Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation’s Artist of the Month.
Aikman fell in love with poetry as a child growing up in Jamaica, under the sway of the iconic Jamaican poet and folklorist, Louise Bennett-Coverley. Those classic poems by “Miss Lou” lit a fire for the art form in Aikman, who began writing her own poems at 16, mainly in Jamaican patois, performing them live in fiery public performances.
On Tuesday, June 29, 2021 on Alberta Morning, Grant Stovel spoke with Aikman about being part of the Calgary arts scene for the past decade, about Jamaican patois, her influences ranging from Maya Angelou to the 2021 U.S. Presidential Inauguration poet Amanda Gorman, and how she turns to poetry as a refuge from her nerve-rattling professional life, as a nurse.