Fall workshop registration is open (+ hiring 6 poets for an event)

Poetry is... "risk taking of the highest order" - M. NourbeSe Philip

Author

Christine Bissonnette
August 16, 2024

Hello,

Back in April, I decided to reduce the number of classes I was teaching for awhile so I could spend some time thinking about where I want to take this business that has been growing along with me for the last three years. I’m so grateful I made that decision.

The space I created for myself allowed me to appreciate how fast I had been moving, and that stillness and my connection to my body was something I wanted to reprioritize.

Keeping this desire front and centre in my mine, I had the good fortune of travelling to Hamilton, Ontario in May to attend the Arrivals Voice Legacy Program — a 5-Day immersive exploration of the embodied voice through the lens of ancestry. This was how I celebrated my 35th birthday. While in this workshop, I wrote the line, “the language of gratitude begins in my feet.” Ever since then, this is something I’ve been repeating to myself daily.

Fall is on its way and I’m back to my regular teaching practice feeling energized and inspired. I’m teaching 3 classes this term, plus a special breath class. I’ll also be facilitating my very first 5-day Writing Retreat. You can learn about these below.

A Call For Poets

Before we get to the description of these classes… I’m hiring poets (I love this sentence)!

I’m looking to hire 6 poets for an intimate Sunset Poetry Performance (working title) hosted in collaboration with Downtown Vancouver on Thursday, September 12th from 7:30-8:30pm.

Where: Lot 19 (855 W Hastings). We’ll be transforming this space into a stage.

The theme for the evening is: your relationship to being witnessed in the expression of your gifts and strengths.

Do you have poetry that responds to this theme in some way (I’m open to interpretations)? This is my first time curating poetry for a live event. I am looking to hire poets who feel comfortable on stage and confident they can engage an audience for a 10 minute set. Poets will receive an honorarium for their performance.

There will also be open mic spots speckled throughout the evening.

Email me for details: [email protected]

Free Poetry Writing Workshop
Earlier in the day, from 5:15-6:30pm, I’ll be teaching a free poetry writing workshop, where you’ll have an opportunity to write poetry on this same theme (your relationship to being witnessed).

Challenge: attend the workshop and then join us for the performance. Sign up for an open mic spot and share the poem you just wrote and practice being witnessed by your community.

More details coming soon.

Now… let’s get to all the upcoming classes.

Breathexperience Breath class - 4 Weeks (Online)

When: Mondays, August 19th - Sept 9th 2024
from 6-7pm PT | Online | $45 CAD + GST

This is a new offering. I'm looking for 4 students (max) to join me for a one hour class once a week for four weeks. One of those spots has already been claimed.

I was certified as a Breathexperience teacher in 2020 (after 3 1/2 years of study) and from the start, I’ve incorporated it into all of my writing classes because of the way I’ve found it encourages an experience of brave focus when approaching the blank page. But a different richness of exploration is possible when we stay with the breath for a longer space of time.

Breathexperience originated in Germany. Its principles and forms (exercises) teach us to learn to allow our breath to come and go on its own, without our control. Through this process, we meet our patterns of holding. We also meet our capacity for ease and flow.

“How we breathe is how we live” is something one of my teachers told me when I first started taking classes. The statement captured my attention immediately, and it has continued to ring true over these last nearly 7 years as my own practice has deepened.

Want to join me for this exploration?

Fall Term 2024

Here’s what else is coming up this fall term.

  1. Develop a Writing Ritual - 10-Week Program (Online)
    Free intro: Tuesday, Sept 10th from 6-7:15pm PT
    Program starts October 1st. 


    Develop a creative writing ritual and start to integrate it into your life in a way that is both sustainable and nourishing. You’ll start the term by choosing a writing goal, and then over the course of the program you’ll begin to move through buried blocks to your creativity and create work that is meaningful to you.

    Each session includes a breath practice, guided freewriting (with questions based on ‘The Artist’s Way), and 40 minutes to write. We end with spirted conversation about what we’re finding within ourselves as we make space for our creativity.

  2. Voice into Poetry - 7-Week Poetry Writing Workshop
    with an exploration of public speaking (Online)
    Free intro: Thursday, Sept 26th from 5:30-6:30pm
    Program starts October 10th 

    In this series, you’ll explore the physical experience of your voice, and then express what you find using poetry.

    As part of our explorations, we’ll read poetry about voice out loud (different author each week), write our own, and gently engage with what it feels like to speak creatively to an audience and share our voice with the world.

  3. Poetic Disruptions - 8-Week Poetry Writing Workshop
    for TEENS, age 15-18
    Free intro: Tuesday, Sept 24th from 2:30-4pm
    Program starts October 8th

    In this 8-week series, teens will explore how to write poetry that honestly and creatively expresses their relationship to ambition, change, belonging, and more — while also strengthening their creative writing skills. 

Writing Retreat

I’m teaching my first retreat in collaboration with Whilewoods Retreat Centre in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario. I’m full of excitement!

This will be a longer form and more immersive version of my Develop a Writing Ritual program. Over these 5 days, you’ll be supported to flow into the work of writing your first (or second, third, etc) book. Deep breaths. This is not a nose to the grindstone sort of retreat. You will not be expected to ‘power through’ and get that word count at all costs. When the body is included in the writing process, you may discover that writing can be an easeful and even nourishing experience. It’s also more sustainable.

When: September 17th - 21st, 2024
Where: Whilewoods Retreat Centre in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
Cost: $1,777 CAD (all meals are included).

Send me an email for further details: [email protected]

Questions or comments about anything in this email? Send an email to [email protected] . I’d love to hear from you.

with thanks,
Christine Bissonnette

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