Summer Poetry Workshop Series w/ Lydia Collins!

Join Lydia Collins for a free biweekly poetry workshop series Wednesdays from 6-7pm throughout the summer!

About this event

This series will allow participants to explore poetry in depth, and learn about various poetry forms through the works of Black authors and creators. Participants will engage in light reading, followed by workshop activities to hone in on topic specific writing skills. This series is open to beginners, and established writers alike.

Attendance is open to everyone, including community members! Spaces are limited. Please register today to secure your spot!

Summer Poetry Workshop Series Schedule:

May 5th from 6-7pm

Readings: Route 16, In Transit

https://www.lydiacollins.ca/digital-reads

Author: Lydia Collins

Topic: Storytelling in Poetry

Discussing poem, Route 16, from Lydia Collins’ recent digital chapbook In Transit, and the practice of telling stories through poetry.

 

May 19th from 6-7pm

Activity: Telling Your Story

With the discussion and reading, Route 16, from the previous session, participants will be putting the learned skills of incorporating storytelling in poetry to use.

 

June 2nd from 6-7pm

Readings: Zapotec Crossers (or, Haiku I Write Post PTSD Nightmares) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/147880/zapotec-crossers-or-haiku-i-write-post-ptsd-nightmares

Author: Alan Pelaez Lopez

A look into haiku’s through a close reading of Zapotec Crossers (or, Haiku I Write Post PTSD Nightmares) by Afro-Indigenous author, Alan Pelaez Lopez.

 

June 16th from 6-7pm

Activity: Letters to the Land: Haiku writing session

With the discussion and reading, Zapotec Crossers (or, Haiku I Write Post PTSD Nightmares), from the previous session, participants will put their learned skills to use through a Letters to the Land haiku writing activity.

 

June 30th from 6-7pm

Readings: Black Privilege

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rYL83kHQ8Y

https://genius.com/Crystal-valentine-black-privilege-annotated

Author: Crystal Valentine

Topic: Spoken Word and Black Culture

Watching and analyzing Crystal Valentine’s spoken word poem, Black Privilege, and discussing the history and relevance of spoken word poetry in Black culture.

 

July 14th from 6-7pm

Activity: Black Out Poetry Session

For this week’s activity participants will be introduced to black out poetry with the use of Crystal Valentine’s poem, Black Privilege, and create their own black out poem.

 

July 28th from 6-7pm

Reading: The 17 Year – Old & The Gay Bar

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/92050/the-17-year-old-the-gay-bar

Author: Danez Smith

Topic: Queering Poetry

With the use of Danez Smith’s poem, The 17 Year-Old & The Gay Bar, participants will discuss the queerness of poetry, and the power of the pen for Black queer poets.

 

August 11th from 6-7pm


Activity: Queering Poetry: Introduction to Free Verse

Participants will be writing their own free verse poem, with inspiration from the previous week’s reading, The 17 Year-Old & The Gay Bar.

 

ABOUT LYDIA:

Lydia Collins is an Author, Educator, and Creator from the Niagara Region, currently residing in Ottawa. As a Brock University alumni with a degree in English, Language and Literature and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, Lydia published her first chapbook of poetry Angry. Black. Woman. In January 2019, her second To Everyone We’ve Ever Been in September 2020, a free digital chapbook In Transit in February 2021, and produced her first short film Joy Is Our Birthright in October 2020.

Lydia’s love and dedication to writing are what keep her determined to continue amplifying marginalized voices through telling her own story.

 

All workshops will be closed captioned and held on Zoom.

Folks can attend any of the workshops in the series.

Please email Michelle Mudge at mmudge@brocku.ca for more information and/or accessibility requirements.