A Story To Tell: One Creative's Journey

By: Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan*

You have a story to tell,” she says.

It’s 2004, and I am 16. Jo-Anne Ahlmen is my English teacher at the International School of Stockholm. She looks me dead in the eye as she says those words, holding one of my assignments in her hand.  

A year later, I have moved to Ankara, Turkey. My new English teacher is Shannon Westgate. On a quiet afternoon, Ms. Westgate lets me sit in on a creative writing class with some younger students. There is a quiet rustle in the classroom and I am happy, because I am writing a poem, for no other reason than the pure joy of it. 

I am fortunate enough to not only have had encouraging and ferociously progressive teachers in my life, but also a family that that has a deep love for the arts. In school, I came to love writing essays as well as creative writing exercises, and enjoying the detective work involved in reading between the lines of all the various texts we studied. Seeking out the web of connections that spanned across a work of literature was an exhilarating and satisfying experience that I still invigorates me today.

My passions led to a BA in Art History and English Literature in the UK, an MA in Art History in London, and finally an MA in Arts Management and Cultural Policy in Dublin. As I entered the job market, I quickly realised that my understanding of art history gave me the necessary tools to analyse images, whilst my understanding of literature gave me the tools to analyse text. My two humanities degrees, often looked down upon as frivolous, taught me how to analyse visual, verbal and written communication, as well as how to write persuasively. These are skills that I use every single day of my life, but especially in my role as a Marketing and Development Manager.

It’s 2018, and I am sharing these insights to an auditorium full of teenagers at a school in Dublin. My friend, an English teacher (of course), has invited to talk to the students about the importance of art in everyday life. This takes place several weeks before Ireland’s referendum on the Eighth Amendment. I tell them how studying Art and English Literature in school and university gave me the tools I needed to question the media, and to think critically about what an image or a message is trying to convey or make me feel. I think about the hundreds of campaign posters dotting the bus route to their school, and tell them that they already have the tools to question the information that is being presented to them, and figure out for themselves what is true, and what isn’t. I doubt they have been exposed to the idea that Art and English can be used in this way. 

Then there are the more obvious takeaways from these subjects: the skills of communication and storytelling. These are skills that can be nurtured in the classroom by forward-thinking and imaginative arts educators. Stories are powerful, and if we’re lucky, we meet the right teachers and people to help us express ourselves, and tell those stories effectively throughout our personal and professional lives. The sharing of stories played a vital part in helping win two referendums about equality here in Ireland. It is interesting to note that Brexit’s Leave campaign was excellent at storytelling (a notable work of fiction), while the Remain campaign did not harness this power or manage to communicate stories effectively. Being able to harness the skills of communication and critical analysis can be an empowering political act in a world where we are faced with a deluge of often inaccurate information. Imagine a world where every young person is actively equipped to question the information presented to them; a world where young people understand the transferrable value of what is being taught to them in the classroom when it comes to the arts, in addition to appreciating it for its own sake. 

I am lucky to have had teachers that believe in this world, and are building it with their actions. While Ms Ahlmen encouraged me to write and to seek out stories, Ms Westgate encouraged my ability to map connections, closely analyse texts, and express my ideas persuasively. Both also nurtured an appreciation of stories from other cultures. My favourite assignment from Ms Ahlmen was to compile and present a small collection of poems, with no geographical or topical restrictions. My most memorable experiences from Ms Westgate’s class were reading and analysing the connections between different books by South American authors, which introduced me to complex array of topics regarding queerness, sex, love, family, and freedom. These women encouraged me to absorb, to question, to search, to investigate, to empathise, to love literature, and of course - to write. 

It’s 2019, and I’m now 31. I have two copies of a book in front of me, ready to be posted to these two teachers. The book is ‘Writing Home: The ‘New Irish’ Poets’, published by Dedalus Press, a brand new anthology of poetry that includes work by 50 poets in Ireland who come from a variety of backgrounds. In this collection are 5 poems written by me, the first poems I have ever had published. Holding the books in my hand, I think of Ms Ahlmen insisting that I have a story to tell, and Ms Westgate showing me the importance of sharing stories between cultures. I think of their kindness, attention, patience and encouragement. I think of the impact of their hard work, and how this is only one example of it resonating forward through the lives of their former students. And I think of the future that they, and others like them, are building: one story at a time. 

*Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan

Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan is an arts manager and fundraiser from India with ten years of experience working in the arts in the UK and Ireland. After working in the fine arts in London in Christie’s Auction House, The Victoria and Albert Museum, the Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery and the Be Smart About Art Academy, she moved to Dublin and began working in fundraising and business development for the arts. After working with Business to Arts, the Irish Architecture Foundation and The Liquor Rooms, she is now Marketing and Development Manager at Fishamble as part of the Fundraising Fellowship, Dublin: Business to Arts’ New Stream programme in partnership with Dublin Culture Connects.

Chandrika is also a writer, spoken word performer and storyteller. Her work has been aired on NPR and Irish radio, and she regularly performs her poetry at literary and cabaret events in Dublin. Chandrika was a participant of the Irish Writers Centre Xborders programme in 2018, and her poetry is included in the recently published Writing Home: The ‘New Irish’ Poets from Dedalus Press. 

Get in touch with Chandrika by emailing her, or find her on Twitter at @ChandrikaNM.