Waxing Poetic Under A Woolen Moon
In a few sleeps I'll be spending an entire weekend at Winter WordsWorth with teen poets, songwriters, fiction writers, musicians, writing instructors to DIE for, and a poetic professor. Our backdrop will be a wintry forest with snow-covered mountains in the distance. We'll skate and take to the hills for some sledding to refuel our brains before digging into our creative souls once more. (I say "we", but really I mean everyone else. I'll be the cheerleader sipping coffee from the sidelines….you don't want me near skate blades. It's safer for everyone if I keep my distance. Seriously.)
My workshops are planned and are a mix of writing prompts/drama and improv/music/graphic organizers/video clips and peer evaluation. While that sounds DEADucational and possibly dull - it'll be a scream, have no fear…or perhaps a smidge of unease – nerves make us more creative. 
I'm hoping to sneak away and check out the poetry workshops offered by Calgary professor, Owen Percy. Owen…"has planned a workshop FULL of fun! You'll put your poems through a series of constraint-based games designed to engage your vocabulary, process and perspectives as a poet. Owen will challenge not only what you write, but also how you write it. You'll consider word choice, form, punctuation and tone in your quest to become an evil (poetry) genius!"
Click HERE for samples of Owen's poetry.
We even have an open mic planned, with a house band to start us off. I'm bringing my guitar, my amp and a few new tunes to try out on a keen (or captive) audience. And with all those creative types – hello – jam session!
"Mercury Audio is a roots rockabilly duo comprised of Dylan Sadlier-Brown on guitar and Laurie Fuhr on bass. With a full band, they have played most Calgary venues, and they love playing summer festivals. They write about many topics, but space aliens are a favourite. While both musicians have released albums with other projects such as The Sure Fires, Lonely Hunters, and the Sadlier-Brown Family Band, they are currently working on a first album for Mercury Audio called 'Interstellar Hits!'"
Oddly enough, Laurie used to live in Cold Lake and would come out to our local open mics at Beantrees Cafe. I'm keen to talk with her about all the wonderful writing/music stuff she's done since moving to the big city. Small world, eh?
If it's not obvious by now… I. Can't. Wait.
