How to Twine Tongues in Poetry

This workshop will explore the fundamentals of poetry, writing personal journeys, and incorporating more than one language into a poem. Attendees will participate in poetry exercises, write a poem, and workshop their unilingual, bilingual, or multilingual poem. All participants are welcome to submit a final copy of their poem to the Chez Nous In Moncton community poetry project.  

This workshop is presented in collaboration with the City of Moncton. It will be followed by an in-conversation event on the author’s poetry collection, That Light Feeling Under Your Feet. 

Chez Nous In Moncton community poetry project

Over the next two years Moncton's Poet Laureate Kayla Geitzler will construct a multilingual poem representing the many voices within Moncton and the neighbouring First Nations. She will use excerpts from interviews and writing gathered from students, professionals, artists, and residents from all walks of life. The project will examine our strong sense of community, who we are as individuals, how Moncton inspires us, and why this city is home. The completed text will become video poems read by the people who serve Moncton daily, such as elders, doctors, teachers, RCMP, firefighters, air traffic controllers, and others. Kayla looks forward to recording your stories and reading your poems about what Moncton means to you and why! 

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Biography

Moncton native Kayla Geitzler is proud to represent her city as the first Anglophone Poet Laureate/Poet Flyée. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from UNB and was named a “Rad Woman of Canadian Poetry” by All Lit Up. The CBC has recognized her as a poet who reflects “the enduring strength of the literary form in this country.” Her first poetry collection That Light Feeling Under Your Feet won the Bailey Prize, made the Calgary Bestseller list, and was shortlisted for the Fiddlehead Poetry Prize and Alberta Publishers’ Award. Her poems have been featured in The Fiddlehead, Poetry is Dead, Les Effeuilleuses, Gnaw and Gnarl, and Thirteen: New Poems from LGBTQI2S Writers. She is the host of the Attic Owl Reading Series, and the Moncton Representative for the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick. Kayla works as a writing consultant to help professionals and creatives capture their best writing.