Nikita Gill - Everyone Wants to Be Heard But No One Wants to Listen
About this episode
Nikita Gill discusses her journey from a cleaner to a bestselling author, exploring themes of rejection, identity, and the power of poetry.
Before becoming a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, and one of the most widely read poets on Instagram, Nikita worked as a cleaner and carer while sharing her poetry online. She moved from New Delhi to Britain in her early twenties to study for a master's degree at the University for the Creative Arts, and felt she ‘disappointed’ her parents and faced repeated rejection and misogyny in the process. In this episode, she tells Elizabeth about her unusual childhood at sea, growing up in places marked by contested borders, where bomb scares at school felt routine, and the many obstacles she faced throughout her career. She also reflects on the power of poetry to connect us, why myths still resonate today and how writing became both a form of resistance and survival. IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Introduction 03:10 Archivist Heart 04:33 Unheard Voices 07:10 Borders Bomb Scares 09:49 Childhood 11:30 Mythical Power 13:52 Rejection To Breakthrough 25:51 Success Highs and Lows 26:31 Rejection as Return 27:45 Dating and Being Returned 28:11 BuzzFeed Fame Backlash 33:36 Shame and Misogyny Online 34:51 Surviving Internet Pile Ons 39:16 Chronic Pain Finally Named 48:34 Family Grief and…
More episodes of How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
- Nish Kumar - Failure Is Information. Comedians Call It Material.
- Remembering Gloria Steinem
- David Sedaris - ‘My Father Said I Was A Bad Influence Because I Was Gay’
- Failure Throwback: Mo Gawdat
- Failure Throwback: Phoebe Waller Bridge
- Mel Giedroyc - I Lost My Biggest Fan When Mum Died
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the How To Fail With Elizabeth Day podcast page.