Voice into Poetry Series starts Tuesday

My Voice into Poetry series is starting Tuesday! I originally designed and then taught this series 2 years ago (it was called the Voice and Narrative series then), but I’ve since given it a makeover. This email is about this workshop, but it is also about my goals when designing and teaching a poetry writing series.

My first goal is to provide space where folks can connect, think deeply about a theme, share their experience, and hear the experiences of others. I love hosting intergenerational gatherings where we can come together to share, learn from each others experiences… and then write poetry about what we discover.

Over the last several years, I feel honoured to have hosted beautiful conversations about: change (when change arrives and there is no turning back, how do you integrate it?), failure (when you have an experience of failure — defeat, frustration, flop — what does that experience mean to you?), stillness (what do you believe about the value of stillness?), and so much more.

I ran into a current participant of one of my classes at an event this week. She told me that after each class, she has to sit for awhile and consider what has been spoken about, as each class is so emotionally and intellectually stimulating.

My second goal is to offer an approach to creative writing that centres ease rather than effort. I do this by offering a writing ritual that encourages folks to notice the felt experience of the body — your sitz bones in your chair, the sensation of your breath moving — before setting pen to paper. I also prioritize certain words when crafting my freewriting questions. I choose language that feels spacious rather than constrictive and directive. ‘Wander for words that come to mind when you hear the word silence’, as opposed to ‘list or search for words that come to mind…” Doesn’t ‘wander’ feel more spacious and playful?

I wrote a love letter to my students awhile back, and in that letter remarked that “it surprises me, every time, how alive your poetry feels” and “how compassionate your poetry so often is towards yourself, towards the life experiences that have brought you this moment.”

I wonder if that is because the body is included as we write. For me, it has been a revelation to approach writing in a more mindful, compassionate, and playful way. It is a pleasure to offer this way of approaching the blank page to others.

In my upcoming Voice into Poetry series, in addition to connecting deeply over themes related to our voice (apology, assertiveness, delight) and writing about our experience… we’ll also be exploring the process of speaking our writing out loud, sharing our creativity with ease in mind.

In this workshop, our focus is on becoming more comfortable with our voice and what we need/want to say.

Our week 1 theme is silence. Here are two of the questions we’ll be working with on Tuesday: From what kind of silence have you learned to speak? Are there any ‘silenced ones’ that you speak for?

Want to join us? Since there are still a few spots left, I’d like to offer 2 people the option to join Tuesdays class for free. You can decide afterwards if you’d like to join for the full series. Email me at [email protected] for details.

My Voice, at 24 and 34

Voice is a topic that has interested me for most of my adult life. As a young woman, I hated the sound of my voice. Last year, I came across a video of me from when I was 24. I originally thought I’d do a side-by-side comparison, sharing how much my voice has changed over the last 10 years as a result of all the intensive voice work I’ve done…. but as I sat down to work on the video, I realized there was something else I wanted to say.

You can also watch this video on Instagram.

Extras

• There is a relationship between poetry and the body. This a topic that fascinates me! It’s the focus of my whole Embodied Poetry series (the winter term started 2 weeks ago). I’ve decided to write about what I’ve discovered about this relationship as part of an Instagram series. Read post #1 here.

Questions, comments, concerns about anything I’ve written about in this email? Send me an email ([email protected]). I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you,

Christine Bissonnette

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