Photos by Daniel Johnson 

THE SHORT OF IT

Natalie Patterson can best be identified as a Teaching Artist, she uses her dynamic range of expertise to masterfully make tangible abstract concepts. Natalie has the unique ability to bridge ones personal experience with the larger cultural occurrences using art, performance and custom workshops. Over the last 15 years, Natalie has crafted time-tested approaches to fostering cultures of growth, curiosity, compassion, and integrity. As a poet and educator, her work has taken her to a wide range of spaces. She has worked extensively in non-profit, higher education and with major brands like Sephora, Uproxx, The United Way, Summit, Darling Magazine and SoulPancake. Natalie speaks her mind, from inspiration to social justice she is equally inspired.  She was the first female producer and host of the nation's largest poetry venue, Da Poetry Lounge, the President of Sister Support, a non-profit committed to women and recently completed a year long residency teaching poetry as a healing art to youth who are incarcerated. At the top of 2019, Natalie accepted a position with Art With Impact as a Workshop Facilitator for Movies for Mental Health. In the fall of 2019, Natalie was hired on as a Teaching Artist at SPARC, one of Los Angele’s oldest and most respected art and activism organizations. Natalie is known for her integrity, passion, social activism and her ability to work with people of all ages, genders, races and cultures by showing up fully and inviting folks to remember that who they are is enough.

THE LONG VERSION

Natalie Patterson is a poet with the heart of a photographer, she is about capturing a moment.  In 2002, while seated on a beanbag in a crowded poetry venue Natalie felt the spark.  She had never shared one of her poems and even writing outside of a journal was new.  With a few poems, dedication and a bunch of passion Natalie went on to make the Los Angeles Slam team, get accepted to NACA and book a full college tour then opened a monthly poetry venue, The Siren Collective. Natalie soon began developing her own curriculum and her love of teaching emerged stronger than ever.  At the recommendation of a fellow poet, the legendary Stan Lathan asked her to facilitate a poetry based educational event, after a job well done he followed with an offer to join the cast of Debbie Allan's Def Poetry ALL star show.

The spirit of contribution always extremely central to Natalie’s life work she continued to support the nations largest weekly poetry venue, Da’ Poetry Lounge (the venue she began in) nearly every week since 2003.  As a result of that commitment and dedication in 2010, she become the first female producer and host in the 16-year history. That same year, Natalie developed and facilitated innovative poetry programs for under-resourced youth as Director of Poetry for Collective Voices Foundation, teaching eight classes a week at five different schools.

In a series of fortunate events, Natalie left the familiar of Da' Poetry Lounge after a decade to focus on building her own brand.  In January 2014, Natalie and her work were featured on the entire season of SoulPancake's "That's What She Said" web series. SoulPancake has over two million global subscribers, shooting Natalie from a local market into the world.  While the international success has given her a larger audience and platform, Natalie remains grounded in her goal to change the world one poem at a time. She was President of Sister Support, a non-profit seeking to empower and support women artists and entrepreneurs.    

Natalie is currently working on her first sound installation, she serves as a workshop facilitator at Art With Impact and is regularly performing throughout the nation.

Natalie resides in Los Angeles. She enjoys love notes, working in the middle of the night, waking up after 10 a.m., black tea, baths, spending Sunday’s in love and being promptly paid for her art.