A poetry festival opens by celebrating working class poems.
Kate Braid and Kim Goldberg, with guitarist Evan Westre, open the first day of Nanaimo’s Mayworks Poetry Festival Saturday (May 14) at Nanaimo Museum.
They host a writing workshop at 1 p.m., followed by an open mike at 2 p.m., where participants are invited to share their own poems about work or everyday life.
The workshop uses guided meditation to help create a short piece of writing related to work, past or present, from babysitting to brain surgery.
After a half-hour open mike session, Goldberg presents her writing, followed by Braid and Westre on guitar.
Braid published five books of poetry, winning a B.C. Book Prize among others. Goldberg is not only a poet, but also a journalist and author of six books, including her latest, Red Zone, a poem diary of homelessness in Nanaimo.
The poetry festival continues May 21 with Wendy Morton and David Fraser on the theme of every day life.
Morton and Fraser create flash poetry at 1 p.m. through interviews with participants.
At 2 p.m., an open mike will be available for participants to share their own works on every day life. Following that will be presentations by Fraser and Morton.
Morton is the author of five poetry books and a memoir, including her latest work What Were Their Dreams, a collection of poems and archival photos about Canada’s history.
Fraser is the founder and editor of Ascent Aspirations magazine and published four collections of poetry. He also develops the monthly spoken-word series Wordstorm.
Please call 250-753-1821 for information.