Atwater Library and Computer Centre

Write, Share, Speak: A workshop to inspire your inner storyteller

Seniors and teens, come join us on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20, 2016 for a weekend of creative exploration — Saturday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm with lunch provided, and Sunday from 3:00 to 5:30 pm.

Learn writing, storytelling and spoken word techniques to engage your imagination and your voice. Collaborate with other seniors (62 and up) and youth (12-18 years old) as five professional artists guide you through a day of workshops that invite the stories within you to emerge!

A public performance will take place the following afternoon where, if you like, you can showcase your creations alongside performances by the five professional artist-facilitators.

This free workshop will be given in English, although participants are welcome to incorporate other languages in their work.

Please note that this workshop takes place in our auditorium, which is up a flight of stairs.

To take part, complete the online registration form and we’ll let you know if you got a spot. For more information, call 514-933-0878 or email admin@qwf.org. Registrations are on a first come, first served basis.

A co-production of the Library’s Atwater Writers Exhibition (AWE) and the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) with funding from the Community Cultural Action Fund (CCAF) of Canadian Heritage.

Meet the Artist-Facilitators:

Chris Masson is a writer and performer who has been featured on stages across the country. Some of his poetry was recently published in the anthology Where the Nights Are Twice As Long: Love Letters of Canadian Poets (Goose Lane Editions). He is a founding member of the Throw Poetry Collective, with whom he organizes monthly spoken word events. He also works in media production and facilitates writing workshops with the Quebec Writers’ Federation.

Moe Clark is a nomadic songbird with wings woven from circle singing and spoken word. Poet of Honour at the 2014 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, she’s featured on local and international stages. Her Cree language video nitâhkôtan won best music video at the 2015 ImagiNative Film Festival. Based in Montreal, she has two albums, a bilingual book of poetry and numerous video poems. As a public speaker she’s presented feature talks at REDx (Feb 2016), TedXMontreal (2012) and the 2012 London Olympics.

Tanya Evanson is an award-winning poet, performer, producer and educator. Active since 1996, her spoken word has featured widely across North America, and she has a videopoem, three studio albums and six artist books of poetry under her belt. Based in Montreal, she teaches writing and meditation, is director of Spoken Word at The Banff Centre and is at work on a new album, short film and poetry manuscript called Bothism.
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Jason “Blackbird” Selman is a Montreal born poet and trumpet player. He is the author The Freedom I Stole and co-editor of the poetry anthology Talking Book which chronicles the writings of Kalm Unity Vibe Collective (of which he is a founding member). He is the producer of the Intimate Sky performance series. He has had the privilege of working with Black Theatre Workshop’s Youth Works program for many years as their Poetry/Spoken Word animator. His work is grounded in the themes of ethno-musicology, surrealist expression, love and the intersection of masculinity and emotional vulnerability.

Cat Kidd is a Montreal writer/performer known for her zoology-themed performance poetry, combining narrative verse with dramatic delivery, video installation, and original soundscapes by dj Jacky Murda. Described as “an adult blend of Dr. Seuss and Aesop’s fables” her solo show Sea Peach won the MECCA Award for Best New Text, touring to the Edinburgh Fringe, Toronto Harbourfront’s World Stage, and the Singapore Fringe. She has performed in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, New York, Albuquerque, and Glastonbury. Her poem “Human Fish” opened the Spier Arts Poetry Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, that trip becoming the inspiration for her newest work, Hyena Subpoena. catkidd.com