Literature for Life meets NOW HEAR THIS!

In November 2009, NOW HEAR THIS! teamed up with Literature for Life and hosted 2 writing workshops with poet Desi Di Nardo through the WRITE ON! Workshop program. WRITE ON! Workshops can be offered at schools, community centres and other organization and feature a professional writer to help participants improve their writing skills, enhance creative thought and produce writing that is self-empowering.

The workshop “Life Writing: Personal Myth, Memoir & Autobiography” explored a variety of ways in which a person can choose write about her life. Fifteen participants from the local Jane & Finch neighbourhood took part in the workshop, many involved in the Women Moving Forward program.

Desi began the workshop by sharing her own poetry with the group. She talked about her own life story and explained how each of the women would have an opportunity to share their own stories.

After Desi led the young women in an exercise, encouraging them to draw maps of their childhood neighbourhood. From there participants brainstormed topics that they could build into a personal narrative.

The women wrote out their own stories and collaborated with their peers in order to perform a collective piece with the group. The spoken word aspect of the workshop made writing autobiography active and immediate, highlighting how important it is for women to share their stories aloud. Desi was then able to give them constructive feedback for both their writings and performances.

NOW HEAR THIS! Social Network Links:

BLOG: nowhearthis.ca
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/NOWHEARTHIS.ca
TWITTER: twitter.com/NOWHEARTHISca

For more information about this specific workshop, please email Whitney.