Hello, 

I wrote a love letter to my students this week. I'd love to share it with you. But first, here's what's new at the studio:

• Read some studio wins from the last year that I posted on LinkedIn.

• I've put together a FAQ page for my poetry writing workshops, featuring questions like: who are these classes for, what do you learn, what does a typical class look like?

• Winter Classes are starting soon. View classes page!

To give a little context for this letter,  I'd first like to tell you a story:

Way back in 2014, I designed my first ever poetry experience. At that point, I had no idea how to teach mindfulness... wasn't terribly mindful myself, to be honest. I knew even less about poetry, other than that I loved it. But a couple friends encouraged me to facilitate a creative gathering they were putting on at their home, and I said yes.

Designing that experience was incredibly fun. I wrote several freewriting prompts on the topic of voice, and an accompanying meditation that invited the listener to notice their breath and imagine that their voice had not yet arrived, and was in a state of waiting. The idea was that folks would move through the entire writing and mindfulness exercise in silence. The first time they'd speak is when they read their poetry out loud. It was a thrilling experience. I still have my copy of that exercise in a small memory box I add to every year.

Over the following 3 years, I was pulled in lots of different directions, until I eventually found my way to studying breath work for 3 1/2 years, and then finally back to poetry... which is a whole other story. I started my studio after receiving a Creative Spark grant from ArtStarts in Schools, and from there... well you've kept registering for my workshops and supporting me to grow both as a facilitator and a writer. I'm so grateful.

A Love Letter to my Students

It surprises me, every time, how alive your poetry feels. I wonder if that's what happens when the body is included and doubt becomes inconsequential -- I can see (and I can feel) that you're not trying to 'use' your creativity to show me your worth. You know that you belong. You're here to play.

Every week, I love witnessing the way you hold this new poem that is yours, this poem that you wrote because you resisted the impulse to step on the breaks and control the language that was pouring out of you.

I love how often your poetry includes your breath and your body. I mean, it's amazing. And I also love how compassionate your poetry so often is (towards yourself, towards the life experience that brought you to this moment) and how immersed you become when listening to the experience of others.

I've always yearned for a space that would allow for this kind of listening, and it has been a such a joy to realize that others feel the same as me.

Thank you for trusting me to create a landscape for you to wander within every week. You remind me of how much creativity exists within every one of us. This may sound cliche, but my god is it ever true. Thank you.

You have added so much richness to my life.

Upcoming Classes

 For each session, I provide a general shape and the participants choose the direction. As a result, the poetry that comes out of each workshop is so different.  All upcoming classes.

1. Poetic Intentions - a goal-setting workshop with a Twist:Wednesday, January 25th from 6:15-8:30pm (online)

Illuminate the path you hope to carve into 2023, with poetry. This special one day workshop will include a meaningful conversation about the challenge of imagining ourselves achieving goals that (despite having written them down) may feel outside of our reach.

2. Embodied Poetry - Mindful Writing Intensive:Starts Thursday, January 26th from 3-5:30pm PST (online)(50% off scholarship spot still available). 

Over the next 8-weeks, you'll reflect deeply on your relationship to the world around you, savour in the many ways poetry includes the body, unleash your imagination, and implement a weekly writing ritual that is both nourishing and joyous.

As always, thank you for all your support. 

Warmly, Christine Bissonnette

P.S - I've been trying out different email platforms. What do you think of the format of this email?