On Process and Poems

The following “poem planets” and constellation poem recordings were created by a group of participants at the DDO Library in the West Island. The work was made in 2 creative writing/poetry workshops that involved responses to interdisciplinary and poetic prompts led by hybrid forms writer/dramaturg Erin Lindsay. This project was made possible through the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s One Planet Countless Worlds grant in association with CAM for an initiative aimed at democratizing access to creative writing and the arts in libraries and communities across Montreal’s West Island.

WORKSHOP 1:
The first workshop involved a prompt around the memory of an existing place of significance to participants. They were invited to create a list poem using the structure …”I remember…I remember…” The second part of the prompt involved the creation of imaginary planets collaged by images from outer space and from aerial views of planet earth. Using the structure, “Here I see… Here I see” participants made observations in connection to the visual worlds of their collages and then crafted a 10-line poem oscillating between their remembrances of a real place of significance in their lives and the “Here I see” observations made about their collaged fictional planets. The aim was to create surprising sensory associations and unique images while encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to writing. This interdisciplinary and deeply visual approach to poetry is heavily influenced by the pedagogy and research of writer and UBC educator Sheryda Warrener and her Provocation Collection project that Erin was a collaborator/researcher on.

Erin crafted a poem and series of Haikus exclusively using words from the workshop 1 poems. Digital artists, Emily Soussana and Andrew Scriver of potatoCakes_digital used these poems to create an interactive 3D digital planet based on imagery from the workshops and Erin’s poem responses. The aim with this process was to explore poetry and creative writing as a means of engagement and conversation; an ongoing dialogue between Erin, the workshop participants and two digital/new media artists. The idea of poetry as a means of dialogue and relational connection is heavily inspired by Erin’s work with New Brunswick-based poet Katie Gorrie on their collaborative project, How Does This Work?


WORKSHOP 2:
Workshop 2 involved a sensory meditation prompt to offer a less structured approach to writing and to activate imagination aurally. Participants were then led through an erasure poetry exercise where they could respond to Erin’s poem or an amalgamation of the first workshop participants’ 10-line pieces. Participants then made voice recordings of selected poems which appear on the Constellation page of this project.

The “poem planets” you see below are written works from workshop participants who preferred to share
their work anonymously.

This project would not have been possible without their intrepid creativity, generosity and openness.
To activate the poems, click on the “poem planet” images and scroll down on the pop-up window to read the works.
Website design for this project is by Erin Lindsay.