Please note that this workshop is intended for Indigenous poets.
Please note all times listed are Saskatchewan time. Find your time zone here: https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter
This event will not be live-streamed or recorded.
Accessibility Measures in this workshop
Indigenizing the Page – Poetry for the Indigenous Poet
Like art on the canvas, in fabric and beadwork, Indigenous prose and poetry can be just as striking, beautiful and as unique as the writer and the audience.
This workshop will teach participants how to dig deeper into their vision and transfer it onto the page. With practical tips, techniques and the sharing of ideas, the students will learn how to hone their poetry. We will delve into what makes Indigenous writing strong, raw and brave.
Each participant will submit one piece of poetry of one page or less in advance that discusses a part of their cultural identity, tribe, language, stories, myths, legends and/or history.
Elaine McArthur will share examples of how she wrote the poem “The Brush of a Bustle” that won the Indigenous Voices Award for Best Unpublished Poetry. McArthur will take participants through the process of putting the idea on paper and transforming it to be a vision that takes the reader deep into the moment caught in words.
Then participants will work on the pieces they brought in and workshop with one another using the techniques McArthur utilizes when transforming first drafts.
We will be mindful of protocols that are inherent in our roles as Indigenous artists and work in a trauma informed manner to complete works that may be close to the heart.
Additional details regarding submitted poetry
Please note that poets will need to submit one poem one week in advance (no later than February 13). Poets will be asked to read portions of their work to the supportive group so please ensure it’s something you’re comfortable sharing.
At the workshop, poets will make edits to an excerpt of their work, so it could either be printed, handwritten, or in a word document that can be edited. Poets will not workshop their entire poem in the workshop. The small edits made by the poets will be shared with the workshop participants during the workshop.
Poets will then have one week after the workshop to refine their poetry, and then they will have the optional opportunity to send the SWG their final piece one time to receive written feedback from Elaine to further strengthen their poem. Feedback will be emailed back to participants in the weeks following.
Timeline:
Workshop Facilitator
Elaine McArthur, a 3rd Generation Residential School and Day School Survivor is a Dakota/Nakota winyan from the Ocean Man First Nation on Treaty Four Territory.
Elaine has won the Indigenous Voices Awards three times. She has been published in anthologies and literary magazines for her poetry and short stories. She was also the recipient of the 2023 Dick & Jane Fund's Indigenous Literary Award, from the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts, for her upcoming graphic novel, Akicita, which is about an Indigenous Superhero with preternatural abilities.
Additionally, she was recently named a runner-up in the City of Regina Writing Award of 2024 for the same graphic novel, Akicita.
Funding by:
In partnership with: