First-year St. Thomas University student Brianna McQuillan is a spoken-word poet. McQuillan is from Nackawic, N.B. and is majoring in Anthropology.
At the age of 13, McQuillan started writing here and there and continued throughout her life. In the past two years, she’s started to take spoken-word poetry more seriously.
“I started writing more longer pieces and expanding my horizon,” McQuillan said.
A monologue called “The Longest Time” is McQuillan’s first serious piece about mental health, which she has performed multiple times.
For McQuillan, spoken-word poetry is important because it is a different way to see things. Also it helps her express her thoughts and feelings in a way a lot of people might not even know exists.
“This is something true and important to me, and to those who read [my poems] I have the hope they have the same feeling towards them,” McQuillan said.
Writing and spoken word has helped her through difficult times. McQuillan said she gets a powerful feeling of joy when she finishes a piece or gets feedback.
“It can make you smile for days on end. I hope that if you ever feel like writing you don’t hold back,” McQuillan said.
Although McQuillan loves writing and doing spoken word, she doesn’t plan to pursue professionally it in the future.
“For now, it will just be a hobby but you never know what can happen in the future.”
