WRITING THE LANDSCAPE EAST Deirdre Kessler, Facilitator

        WRITING THE LANDSCAPE EAST                                         

 

Writing workshop facilitator: Deirdre Kessler
PEI Writers’ Guild 2011 Workshop Series
In cooperation with Montague Library Writers’ Guild
& Southern Kings Arts Council


WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, April 16, 2011: Active Communities INC.540 Main Street, Main Floor Boardroom, Montague, PE
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
(starting promptly, please enter by the side door, refreshments served)

 FOR WHOM
The workshop is open to writers at all levels of development who are interested in life writing, poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, or children’s stories.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
The natural world will be the touchstone for a number of timed writing exercises presented during the workshop. We will explore memory and experience, sudden insights and slow intuitive knowings.  We will experiment with making the shift from representing to responding to the natural world, from external to internal, from surface to essence.

How much can we abstract or distill or simplify what we see and still evoke both the place and our response to it? Explorations of style, structure, and content will be enhanced by exemplary texts, which will be provided to each workshop participant.

Deirdre Kessler is author of over two dozen books, including a recent collection of poetry, AFTERNOON HORSES, and award-winning children's books, LOBSTER IN MY POCKET and BRUPP RIDES AGAIN. She spent this past autumn in Tasmania, where she was artist in residence in the Cataract Gorge, Launceston. Acorn Press will publish her new book for very young children, DREAMTIME, in fall 2011. She teaches creative writing and children's literature at UPEI. 

WORKSHOP FEES
PEI Writers’ Guild members $20.00, Non-members: $30.00, Students $15.00

CONTACT TO REGISTER or for more information
peiwritersguild@gmail.com
Please put in subject line (Attention: PEIWG Workshop Enrollment)
IF you have to contact someone by phone, call Yvette at 902-892-9788.

This workshop was made possible with funding from the PEI Department of Tourism and Culture.

 
Write to Surprise Yourself—in Poetry or Prose, Journal or Play
Dianne Hicks Morrow: Writing Workshop FacilitatorPEI Writers’ Guild 2011 Workshop Series
In cooperation with Montague Library Writers’ Guild
& Southern Kings Arts Council
 
WHEN & WHERE
Saturday, May 28, 2011: Active Communities INC.540 Main Street, Main Floor Boardroom, Montague PE
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
(starting promptly, please enter by the side door, refreshments served)

FOR WHOM
This workshop is open to writers at all levels of development. Especially for those feeling kind of stuck!

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
If you have times when your inspiration has evaporated, this workshop is for you.  The tools you practise today will bring the juice back into your writing. You can continue to use these tools long afterward, to write 'til you surprise yourself.
Through guided writing exercises you'll explore your own wonder and wanderings, both inner and outer.  Your resulting writing will surprise you.  And who knows where it will lead you—into writing a journal, a memoir, story, poem or play—it's your choice.  A desire to explore your world through writing is all that's required. You'll have the opportunity to receive useful feedback on your new writing in a supportive environment.

Dianne Hicks Morrow is an award-winning poet, writing workshop facilitator, past president of
 the PEI Writers’ Guild, and recipient of the 2008 Award for Distinguished
 Contribution to the Literary Arts on PEI. Acorn Press Canada has published
 her book of poetry, Long Reach Home, and her non-fiction book of 27 
interviews, Kindred Spirits: Relationships that Spark the Soul. She has a new book of poetry being published this year. 

This workshop was made possible with funding from the PEI Department of Tourism and Culture.

Special Guest For SKAC March Meeting

Our special guest at tomorrow night's meeting is Amy Swallow, Community Development Officer, Rural Action Centre. Come on out and learn about Federal and Provincial funding sources. We are meeting at 7:30 pm in the Active Communities Boardroom, Main Street, Montague. Please use the side entrance

Area Singer is Guest Speaker

Emma Gallant

Pic – (credit Wayne Crause) Emma Gallant, recently selected as one of three National Artists Program representatives for P.E.I. at next month’s Canada Games in Halifax, is guest speaker at the 18 January meeting of Southern Kings Arts Council.  Admission to her presentation is free.

Emma Gallant's Faceook Page

Area Singer is Guest Speaker 

Tom.rath@yahoo.ca

Emma Gallant, one of P.E.I.’s three National Artists Program representatives at the February 2011 Canada Games, will perform and speak at the 18 January public meeting of Southern Kings Arts Council, in Montague.

Ms. Gallant, a Grade XII student at Morell, is an active member of the Island’s musical community, having launched her first CD, This Moment with You, two years ago.  She performs regularly at concerts such as the Peake’s Quay Wharf’s Summer Concert Series, as well as numerous ceilidhs and benefits throughout the summer months.  During the rest of the year, she tries to squeeze in opportunities to satisfy her fans between a full schedule of teaching both guitar and catechism, working at Atlantic Fitness East (Morell), and maintaining her academic studies as an Honour Roll student.

During her presentation at Southern Kings Arts Council, she will talk about her development as an artist, perform a few of her original songs, and respond to questions from fans and other Council members.

 

Southern Kings Arts Council is one of seven regional organizations supporting artists with Professional Development grants and working to promote awareness and appreciation of the arts on Prince Edward Island.  The public is invited to “meet our artists” at evening meetings held on the third Tuesday of each month, commencing at 7:30 pm in the main floor boardroom of Active Communities, Inc., Main Street, Montague. Admission is free.  For more information, contact SKAC President Fran Feher at 583-2888.

Article – Gary Gray Speaks

Gary Gray

 (photo credit – Tom Rath)

Gary Gray of Montague was guest speaker at this month’s meeting of the Southern Kings Arts Council.  His presentation included a reading from Prince Edward Island Tales, published by the Montague Library Writers Guild,.

Gary Gray's Facebook Page

Southern Kings Arts Council – October 2010
Tom.rath@yahoo.ca 583-2888

Writing is more than just an art form, a way to exercise one’s creativity, guest speaker Gary Gray of Montague explained at this month’s meeting of the Southern Kings Arts Council,  “For me, as a stroke survivor, it as both a form of escape, and a way to help me discover and develop what I call my new normal’.

“The stories of my childhood that you read in Prince Edward Island Tales are not just my latest writings.  They are my first writings, too.  I joined the Montague Library Writers Group because I found writing was good therapy for me.”

Always an active participant in community affairs, Gary suffered a major stroke eight years ago while stopping for coffee at the local Tim Horton’s.  After a blurred three weeks of CAT scans and semi-consciousness, he awoke to the realization that his entire world had changed.  He faced major challenges in learning once again how to walk, talk and dress under conditions of fatigue, depression and anxiety.  Even sitting up in order to eat took effort.  A left-handed man with a paralyzed left side has much to learn.

“It’s more than just regaining physical strength”, Gary told his audience.  “After all, much of what we do doesn’t happen in the hands, but in the brain itself.  I had to battle memory loss and fuzzy thinking, and somehow teach my brain how to survive and succeed under these new conditions”.

Part of his progress stemmed from involvement in a new writing group formed at the Montague Library.  “By putting words down on paper, I helped clear my thoughts and my thinking patterns.  That, plus my involvement with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, gave me new accomplishments – skills, strengths and reassurance that while I’m not necessarily the old Gary Gray, I am the new Gary Gray.  I am surviving and succeeding in my new normal”.

The Southern Kings Arts Council exists to support the arts community, and to enhance public awareness and appreciation of the arts inj this region of Prince Edward island.  Guest speaker meetings are held in the Boardroom of Active Communities, Main Street, Montague, at 7:30 pm on the third Tuesday of most months, and are open to the public.  Admission is free.  For more information on our meetings, or on how to apply for financial support for artistic projects, please contact SKAC President Fran Feher at franflakes@yahoo.

Meeting Postponed and A Reminder For Grant Proposals

Hello everybody,

Well, the weather is certainly making things a little difficult in the travelling department. Given today's weather conditions, I have decided to postpone this evening's meeting to tomorrow, Wed Feb 16. It will, of course, still take place at the Active Communities Boardroom in Montague at 7:30 pm.

Also a reminder that the deadline for grant proposals is close of business today Feb 15, 2011.

Your Chairperson,...
Fran

Lily Levesque - Young Writer is Guest Speaker At Recent SKAC Meeting

Lily Levesque

Pic (credit Tom Rath) – Lily Levesque, Grade Six student at Montague Consolidated,  read her stories to an appreciative audience at Southern Kings Arts Council’s November meeting

Young Writer is Guest Speaker  

16 November 2010  tom.rath@yahoo.ca

Dipping into her tickle-trunk imagination, Lily Levesque of Montague pulls out as many as two to three stories and verses a week.  Some are illustrated with her drawings, and all feature the kaleidoscope of characters, settings and plot twists that signify a budding talent.

Just ten years of age, Ms. Levesque is an enthusiastic member of Montague Library’s Reading group and the Library’s Junior Writers Group “Young minds With Sharp Pencils”.  A Grade Six student at Montague Consolidated, she spoke about her literary activities to an entranced audience at the 16 November meeting of Southern Kings Arts Council.

Although her mother, Sandy MacKay, takes no credit for Lily’s talent, Lily’s uncle Ronnie writes stories, and her cousin Carla has published several books.  Other influences include a tradition of being read bedtime stories written by the late Shel Silverstein, and her own interest in books that trigger ideas for short stories.

One such story is about Cowboy Bob, whose fear of horses is eventually overcome, allowing him to ride off into the sunset. Another features the young man picked by Santa to stand in for him after an unfortunate tipped-sleigh accident. A third is her short verse called simply Germ.

Ms. Levesque may be seen on stage at Georgetown during their winter pageant, and someday, you might hear her playing guitar.  In the meantime, however, you’ll typically find her busy at schoolwork during the day, and attending Guides or other groups some evenings. Otherwise she’ll be at home reading books or multi-tasking on her computer with Messenger, YouTube and Games operating simultaneously, exercising fingers and mind as her tickle-trunk imagination replenishes itself.

Southern Kings Arts Council supports artists across the Region with Professional Development grants, and also works to promote awareness and appreciation of the arts.  The next public meeting is Tuesday 18 January 2011, at 7:30 pm in the main floor Boardroom of Active Communities, Inc., Main Street, Montague.  For more information, contact SKAC President Fran Feher at 583-2888.

tom.rath@yahoo.ca

Southern Kings Arts Council Welcomes Local Photographer Feb 15th, 2011

Glenn Saunders

Southern Kings Arts Council welcomes photographer Glenn Saunders of Murray Harbour as Guest Speaker on Tuesday, 15 February.  The public meeting is free of charge, and starts at 7:30 pm in the Main Floor Boardroom of Active Communities, Main Street, Montague.

Saunders and his wife operate Country Charm Bed and Breakfast, and Forest and Stream Cottages.  His scenic and action photographs support Island East Tourism's promotional campaigns, and are marketed online at glennsaundersphotography.com web site. 

-30-