Amanda Stoddard: Poetry, Recovery, and Solidarity
“Community means solidarity; it means reaching out to other people, confiding in other people, helping other people.”
Poet and Recovery Center of Hamilton County project manager Amanda Stoddard works every day to make the world and her community a better place. She does this with compassion and vulnerability. Women of Cincy is excited to introduce you to this phenomenal woman of Cincy.
Interview by Tara Keesling. Photography by Angie Lipscomb.
You asked for your interview to be held at the Recovery Center of Hamilton County. Do you want to speak a little bit to why you chose this location and what it means to you?
The Recovery Center is such an important part of who I am. I would say it is the main part of who I am, because I love what I do. I’ve never loved a job; I will say that. I’ve worked in retail; I’ve worked in restaurants; I’ve done administrative work; I’ve done digital marketing work, and I kind of get to do everything all in one here. I can talk to people every day; I can help people with their problems every day; I can develop a website; I can run around and think of ideas for a video. I’m so adamant about helping people and creating new ideas for the betterment of others. And this is the perfect place to do it because that’s what we’re all about here: meeting people where they are and providing peer support to people who have a lived experience with mental health issues.
What drives you?
Making a difference in people’s lives, whether small scale or large. I think that’s a big part of who I am and what I want to accomplish. What gets me out of bed every day is, “What difference am I going to make today? How can I make the world a better place?”
What does community mean to you?
Community means solidarity; it means reaching out to other people, confiding in other people, helping other people, and being as much a part of other peoples’ lives as you are your own, really. I make it a point to be an open book and be transparent with anybody that I’m around.
We are patient, we are kind, and we are open. We are transparent and we will meet you where you are.
I also run an open mic night in Mason called Uncensored Society. Everybody calls it a little poetry community. We get everybody from 15-year-olds to Fred, who’s 69 years old. You have all these people sharing ideas and just being there for one another, whether it’s through art, whether it’s through what we’ve been through, whether it’s just shooting the shit. Community is caring for one another and believing in each other.
Do you have a favorite poet?
I would have to say Hieu Nguyen. He actually came when Queen City Poetry Slam was around and they were performing at Rohs Street. He did this poem called “Haunt Me,” and it was just… To a T, I felt so connected to him through that one poem. I was bawling like a little baby. His work is so transparent. He talks about his struggles with his sexual identity, with his childhood trauma, with his relationship with his mother. He talks a lot about repression and about not remembering what happened to him very clearly, and that’s something I struggle with a lot. I hadn’t really known a lot of people who struggled with that until I got invested in his work. It really helped me feel not alone.
I’d love to hear more about the Uncensored Society poetry nights.
We have those biweekly on Thursday nights at Kidd Coffee. It was something me and my friend Drew started when we were fresh out of high school – which was so cool because, in our community – West Chester, Liberty Township, Mason – there wasn’t a lot for teenagers to do outside of partying and getting drunk. The first night was in 2014 in the middle of winter; we had over 80 people show up. It was incredible. I sometimes get really emotional talking about it... To hear the things that people were willing to share, and to still hear the things that people are willing to share – it’s amazing. I’ve had people, numerous times, come up to me and tell me that it’s saved their lives. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.
It seems like with the work you do, where you give so much of yourself, self-care is extremely important. What kind of self-care tactics do you have?
It’s so important to do self-care, especially when you’re constantly working with individuals who are being transparent and honest with you, and sharing their story and the things that have hurt them with you. Last term, me and my friend Kat facilitated a “Healing the Trauma Within” class. That was, as the title implies, really, really heavy, so we would make it a point to talk it out with one another before we went to the class, and afterwards, we would go outside and get lunch to ground ourselves. It’s super important to know when self-care needs to happen and how it needs to happen, because self-care looks different for everybody.
What’s one thing you want people to know about you?
I am always down to connect. I’m always down to help people and make partnerships and start ideas. Connection and community are so important. If people need any kind of mental health resources or community resources, I’m always down to provide that kind of information.
Is there anything else you want Women of Cincy readers to know?
I just want to say to anybody: If you’re feeling alone or if you’re feeling like you have nobody or you have no resources or that nobody understands you, these resources are available to you. Just come. Try it out. It’s so important that I reiterate the fact that we are patient, we are kind, and we are open. We are transparent and we will meet you where you are. In everything that I do – whether it’s a podcast, Uncensored Society, the Recovery Center, anything – we’re here for you, no matter where you’re at or what you’re going through.
Tell us about an influential woman in your life.
My friend Kat. I think she’s probably one of the most influential women to me. She’s been through so much in her life… I’m about to start crying. She’s been through so much and she’s taken it head on and uses that struggle to push herself forward to help people who have been through similar things. There’s never a day where she stops working; there’s never a day where she stops caring about people and she pushes herself so she can really make a difference in the lives of others. Her ambition and tenacity for life inspire me every day. She’s the one person in my life that I can continuously count on.
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