Meet the founder
Sahmra "Supreme" Sawyer, MSW
Beneath The Surface
A Writer since 9 years old, Norwalk, CT's very own Sahmra Sawyer, MSW has grown into a Spoken Word Poet and Mental Health Advocate better known as Supreme Divinity.
Sahmra’s Beginnings start in Caribbean and Southern roots. She grew up around a large family, some of whom were Musicians and Singers where gospel and reggae became rhythmic connections to spirituality, culture, and philosophy early childhood. Attuned to her senses and the love of music and words, she began to follow whatever made her ponder and feel. This would be the catalyst for her becoming in the later years of young adulthood.
What started out as journaling, turned into poetry. She wrote almost daily up until middle school. After stumbling across old journals from her adolescence in her senior year of high school, she rediscovered her passion for writing. "The timing couldn't have been more divine, journaling was much needed at the time."
Experience Becomes Expression
Attending UConn, In 2019, she began working with a culture and wellness organization called SōlHaus, founded by Demetrius Glover, where she recited her original poetry for the first time aloud in downtown Stamford, CT. She was later asked to Emcee for their culture and wellness events where people began to ask if she was a Poet. "I used to say think I'm a Poet." as she reminisces on the start of her in reciting original work aloud.
Her palette of poetry includes shades of ancestry, mind-body connection, and consciousness of self where such topics are inspired by her studies and empirical experience as a brown woman. Creative expression wasn't just a hobby, but became her therapy out loud. Intrigued by trauma and epigenetics and reconnecting with what brought her healing and joy, she obtained her Bachelors Degree in Psychology from UConn in 2022.
Her journey continued on the mic where she connected with other Poets in the tri-state area, making appearances at the Bijou Theatre, FOX 61 News, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Theatre Works Hartford, Nublu NYC, Bowery Poetry, and Brooklyn Poets. in 2023, she founded We've Got Something To Say.
Find more of her written work featured in Edition 1 of Write On, Black Girl! (WOBG), and was a contributing Author in Surviving During A Pandemic: Reflections From Around the World, published by DioPress, where she shared her original poems and reflections during COVID-19.
Her present chapter
Why Mental Health & Poetry?
"When you can name something, you can tame it." Supreme has used poetry as a tool to help her navigate uncomfortable feelings of her own, following personal life experiences which she shares with readers and listeners during recitations. She finds comfort and enlightenment from discovering lessons and blessings in disguise through her poems, faith, and self care regimens. "Writing keeps me connected to myself and my inner ear, It keeps me connected to my roots and what's real. Finding meaning through words can free one's mind, it can heal one's heart."
Currently, she celebrates becoming a recent graduate of Fairfield University where she received her Masters in Social Work. Supreme states Writers like Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, and Patricia Collins inspire her passions toward creating experiences that bridge art, creative expression, advocacy, and mental health in the community.
