The Elephant Mountain Literary Festival and the Nelson Public Library have teamed up to offer a literary workshop program for children and youth, with three special events taking place at the Nelson Public Library in April, May, and June.
Patchwork Poetry for Teens is a free, drop-in workshop on Tuesday, April 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. Poet and instructor Rayya Liebich will lead young people aged 12 – 18 in a variety of creative games to hone skills and spark imaginations, including stealing lines by famous poets to craft new poetic creations.
Patchwork Poetry is part of Youth Arts Hub (YAH), a collaborative project aimed at encouraging youth to explore the arts through free monthly workshops presented by Elephant Mountain Literary Festival, Nelson Youth Action Network, Nelson Public Library, Nelson & District Youth Centre, Oxygen Art Centre, Nelson & District Arts Council, Black Productions and Touchstones Nelson.
Two more upcoming workshops offer opportunities for different age groups and interests.
No More Rules with Rossland children’s author Yolanda Ridge is a special presentation for public school classes that are pre-registered. On Friday, May 4, students will hear the author read from Trouble in the Trees followed by discussion and activities exploring the rules of writing—especially the ones you can break.
On Saturday, June 2 from 10 a.m. to noon, 12 to 18-year-olds can drop in for Poetry and Spoken Word for Teens with Brad Bradley. This workshop is all about the performance art of Spoken Word, exploring the aesthetics of word play, intonation, and voice inflection. Practice at the mic and a chance to hear your own performance through audio recordings posted on SoundCloud are part of this dynamic session.