Each year Vallum Society for Education in Arts and Letters supports workshops throughout Montreal, Quebec and elsewhere. The next workshop has been made possible through a partnership between Unravelling in Rhymes and the South Asian Women’s Community Centre, along with the Atwater Writers Exhibition. Details below!
Erotic and Love Poetry ft. Harleen
About Unravelling in Rhymes: A FREE creative writing workshop where we invite people of colour of marginalized genders (including cis women, trans, 2-spirit and non-binary folks) ages 17-30 years old, to come together in a safe(r), non-judgmental and supportive space and share an afternoon of writing and sharing. In past workshops we have found that this space is more one of healing, sharing our stories (sometimes for the first time), and connecting with other youth of colour and creating community, more than it is about the writing we create.
Date: Saturday, August 6, 2022
Time: 3 – 5 PM EST
Location: The South Asian Women’s Community Centre (1035 Rachel St. E, #3, Montreal)
Facilitator: Harleen Bhogal
Cost: Free! Previous writing experience is NOT necessary!
Please register for this workshop here (spaces are limited).
Workshop Description:
Harleen will draw on ancient South Asian poetry and literature to offer a window to new perspectives on love, pleasure, and the erotic. Poetry of love and sex have a history of over two thousand years in South Asia. Understanding that although love and sex are universal experiences, the social context impacts how we experience sexuality and romance. This balance between the universal and the socially constructed will allow us to discuss these experiences in new and old ways, and prompt us into writing about these concepts guided by discussion and our own blazing imagination. Guided by the structures and themes of old Sanskrit poetry, this workshop will create space for romance and the erotic to journey from our bodies and onto the blank page.
Harleen is a Montreal-based South Asian artist, performer, writer, educator, and community organizer, whose practice is entrenched in feminist and anti-racist principles and community building approaches. Harleen’s writing and performance often tackle issues such as mental health, chronic illness, gender-based violence, systemic oppression, and identity. She understands that artistic self-expression in safe and loving settings can become a catalyst for collective healing and inducing transformative change, and is dedicated to creating these spaces in her community.
Important Note: Participants are invited to participate in the ways and amounts they feel most comfortable. That being said, this workshop is participatory in nature, and therefore we highly encourage the participants to turn on their video during the workshop (if this brings up an access issue, please feel free to let us know in the registration form). We would like to create a space of safety and intimacy, and we believe that having video enabled from participants will help to do that.
Note about self/communal care:
We would like to acknowledge that although the space we hold in this workshop can be magical, this work can be very hard, tragic and intense at times. Tools for self-care, as well as active listeners, will be provided for the duration of the workshop. Participants are welcome to express their self-care needs (before/during/after the workshop), and we will try to meet them as best as we can.
For any further questions, please contact unravellinginrhymes [at] gmail [dot] com.
