Using art and folklore, Enzina Marrari amplifies the voices of people with disabilities, exploring the intersections of grief, loss, illness, and art to promote a more inclusive academic and societal landscape.

Where are you originally from?

I come from coal miners and button sewers, from labourers and farmers. My parents immigrated to the United States from rural Italy in the 1960s as young adults. They spoke no English. Their parents took whatever jobs they could – my maternal grandmother, Giuseppina, sewed buttons on coat sleeves for $0.05 a piece at the Kuppenheimer Suit Factory in Chicago. My paternal grandfather, Rocco, worked in maintenance at the University of Chicago. He died a year after their arrival, forcing my dad, at 16, to drop out of school and take up a trade to support the family. Since before I could remember, my father worked two back-to-back full-time jobs to make ends meet. I never once saw my father take a sick day. My parents are Frank Marrari and Connie Marrari.

Knowing where I come from is essential to understanding the significance of my pursuit of doctoral studies. Geographically, I was born in Chicago and raised between Chicago and the Chicagoland suburbs. At 19, I moved independently to Denaʼina Ełnena (Alaska), where I lived as an uninvited guest for nearly 25 years, becoming ever changed by the land, community, and people, before moving to Newfoundland to pursue doctoral studies.

Where, and in what area, did you do your undergraduate or previous graduate work?

I achieved a B.A. in Art from the University of Alaska Anchorage, where my concentrations were sculpture and life drawing. I earned an M.A. in Studio Art from New York University, where my concentrations were installation and performance art.

Why did you choose to pursue a graduate degree?

From a young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of education, seeing it as a path toward independence and increased opportunities. In 2009, I was the first in my family to receive a master’s degree. Likewise, I am now the first in my family to pursue a PhD.

I am deeply committed to work and research that affects positive change integrated with community engagement. While I recognize and face the systemic oppressive nature of academia, I know that impactful change is often better made from within. Professionally, my doctoral studies will arm me with the experience, expertise, and credibility to effect positive change in my immediate community, throughout Canada, and beyond. I also aim to increase the inclusion and visibility of people and topics often left out of and erased from academia, discourse, and decision-making on a larger scale. My research focuses on the folklores of grief and loss, death and dying, and the intersections of disability, illness, and art. I am a disabled person— I hold this identity in union with all that has shaped me. Disability as a study is grossly underrepresented in academia at large and is loudly missing in my field of specialty: folkloristics. Likewise, disabled academics are missing from the conversation and the field (inside and outside of academia). How can programs, scholarship, and larger socio- and political decision-making be truly inclusive when our voices are not at the table? Pursuing doctoral studies privileges me with a seat at that table. I intend to use that position to be a responsible steward of the disabled experience, my own, and those who entrust me to carry and shine a light on their lived experiences.

As a high-risk disabled person, the pandemic robbed me of my voice and ushered me out of community. My doctoral studies have returned my voice, and I intend to use it to champion improved access, inclusion, and representation of disabled experiences. Nothing about us without us. The clarion call of the disability rights movement guides me on my path.

Why did you choose Memorial for graduate studies?

Memorial is internationally known to have one of the best Folklore programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The excellence and rigor of Memorial’s Folklore program guided my decision-making. Additionally, I had two meetings with the department’s faculty as I was researching different programs. I met with the department’s then-outgoing chair, Dr. Diane Tye, and later the department’s new chair, Dr. Mariya Lesiv. Both faculty members were warm, kind, inviting, and compassionate—qualities that were important for me to find in future mentors. Newfoundland also drew me to its lands. I come from a wild place, where the land shaped me and offered me endless inspiration. I saw a similar possibility with Newfoundland and have not been disappointed. Finally, as a disabled person living through an ongoing pandemic, the policies and attitudes in my state/country were harmful and destructive to me and my community. The collective care and person-centred approach to the pandemic I observed from afar in Newfoundland and Memorial brought me to tears and drew me to these shores.

What is your degree program and area of specialization?

I am working toward a Ph.D. in Folklore. I am researching the folklore of grief and loss, death and dying and the intersections of disability, illness and art.

Why did you choose this area of study?

As an artist, my work is rooted in storytelling. I am driven by confronting the hard stuff. Through my artistic practice, I create visual stories to reveal the unspoken, the shameful, the forgotten, and the unseen. In so doing, I challenge and question the notions of home, place, self, and community and draw inspiration from the environmental landscape, personal and communal stories, and interpersonal vulnerabilities. As an artist, my work has only grown stronger through collaboration with those working alongside me. I didn’t realize how folklore was integral to my artistic work before I began to explore doctoral programs. In fact, I don’t think I fully understood what folklore was! Folklorist Dan Ben Amos defines folklore as “artistic communication in small groups.” Folklorist Lynne McNeill says that folklore is “informal, traditional culture,” and folklorist Pravina Shukla notes that folklore is “art and creativity in everyday life.” Art is integral to folklore, and for me, folklore is integral to art and art-making— I just didn’t know that before.

Pursuing advanced work and research in folklore has already expanded my knowledge of how we create community, meaning, and connection. Folklore was my missing link. As an artist, I have been exploring work around grief and loss for decades. Now, as I deepen my understanding in this new field, I am expanding my work and knowledge on issues that shape me, in a way that I hope will lead to more impactful change on a broader scale.

How would you describe your experience as a graduate student at Memorial?

Graduate school is hard! And it is especially hard when you are disabled and chronically ill, working in an ableist system that is not built or structured for people with disabilities. Despite this—or rather alongside it—my experience has largely been positive. I have been met with repeated compassion, support, encouragement, and accommodations in my department and from my professors. These forms of acceptance and support are life and experience-changing—and indicative of systems that support the full integration of people with disabilities. I am grateful to my professors in the Department of Folklore who have made my adjustment to graduate school after a 15-year hiatus smooth, welcoming, and supportive.

I am also grateful and honoured to have received an Albert George Hatcher Memorial Scholarship for excellence in graduate studies and research in my first year. This recognition has helped validate my choice to return to graduate school after a nearly 15-year gap and empowers me to believe that I am on the right path.

How do you work with your supervisor? Does your work involve other students?

The Department of Folklore is unique in that we don’t select a supervisor until the end of our second year. I am currently at the beginning of my second year, so I have not yet formally chosen a supervisor. I have worked closely with my professors, who have provided mentorship, reviewed, and recommended edits to my work. In addition, they have challenged me to think in ways outside of my norm. My work does not currently involve other students.

Are there any difficulties in life that you’ve overcome to pursue graduate studies?

Like many students, I required student loans to fund my earlier studies. Upon graduation, I began working immediately to repay these loans. Additionally, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness while completing my master’s. I completed my degree without interruption despite the severity of my illness at the time. The next ten years were focused on navigating debilitating disease flare-ups and learning to coexist with my condition. I maintained full-time employment in high-performing jobs despite my suffering.

After working for nearly 15 years in public service, I qualified for the United States’ Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which eliminated the balance of my student loan debt. Likewise, my illness is now under control and managed. The release of my academic debt and the stability of my illness now enable me to pursue doctoral studies.

What are you planning to do after you complete your degree?

I am allowing the right path to unfold when the time is right.

Do you have any advice for current and/or future graduate students?

Folklorist and professor Dr. Jillian Gould often reminds her classes that “comparison is the thief of joy.” I believe this wholeheartedly. I would tell current and/or future grad students not to invest in comparison, as the success or status of others has no reflection on your own success, status, or progress. Be true to yourself, remember that we all start somewhere and have varying levels of experience, and that what is meant for you will not pass you.

Additionally, I advise avoiding getting caught up in what comes next. You are here now. Embrace this present moment—the challenges and successes. Time will pass, and you will get there eventually. Let yourself go with the river and be open to what comes your way. Give yourself grace—you will make mistakes, you won’t have enough time, and you will doubt. It’s all part of the process.

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