2021 Midwinter & spring writing workshops

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writing you: representing yourself in poetry

In this 2-hour poetry workshop, we will discover how who we are, where we’re from, our culture and life experiences can often be our best source of inspiration. We will explore the poetry and process of many talented living poets to help us discover how we can thrive on the page. Filled with fun writing exercises, each participant will have the chance to compose their own poem and workshop it with the group. Beginners and writers of all genres and levels are welcome.
All my workshops are safe, intimate & encouraging spaces.
Cost: $25 CAD (Please pay in advance to hold your place)
Where: Zoom! Once you have registered and paid, Kayla will send you a zoom link for the workshop
*Minimum 2 per workshop.

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Writing the Weird

What does it mean to truly step into the strange? Writing the weird is so much more than just the horror genre. Surrealism, magical realism, altered states, apparitions and what haunts us in the everyday can be challenging to capture on the page. This 2-hour poetry & prose writing workshop will explore what the “weird” looks like, how other writers have captured the strange (and successfully suspended disbelief), as well as what and how your weird will live on the page. Each writer will participate in writing exercises, discussion, and create the bones of something eerie or strangely wonderful. Writers of all genres and levels are welcome.
All my workshops are safe, intimate and encouraging spaces.
Cost: $25 CAD (please pay in advance to hold your place)
Where: Zoom! Once you have registered and paid, Kayla will send you a zoom link for the workshop
*minimum 2 per workshop

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Capturing the Beauty of Asian Poetry

Haiku, tanka, sijo, haybun, pantoum—some of the most evocative poetry in the world comes from the poetical traditions of Asian countries. In this 2-hour workshop, we will explore the living forms of some of the world’s best Asian poets from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and others to discover how our most casual words and everyday images can be transformed into profoundly beautiful poems. Beginners and writers of all genres and levels are welcome.
All my workshops are safe, intimate and encouraging spaces.
Cost: $25 CAD (please pay in advance to hold your place)
Where: Zoom! Once you have registered and paid, Kayla will send you a zoom link for the workshop
*minimum 2 per workshop

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(Re)Telling Your own fairytale

Fairytales have enchanted and educated us for centuries. In this 2-hour workshop, we will explore the tradition of European fairytales and how we can (re)tell ourselves through them. Often vehicles for the traumatic and the weird, we will look at the traditional stories that have inspired or frightened us, a few modern retellings in literature and film, and how we can intertwine or reconstruct segments of our life stories through the lens of the strange and the fantastical to achieve healing or broaden our experience as writers. Filled with collaborative exercises that explore this genre of writing, each writer will also have the chance to begin their own fairytale and workshop it with the group. Writers of all genres and levels are welcome.
All my workshops are safe, intimate and encouraging spaces.
Cost: $25 CAD (please pay in advance to hold your place)
Where: Zoom! Once you have registered and paid, Kayla will send you a zoom link for the workshop
*minimum 2 per workshop

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Writing the Harpy

The harpy, born of a wind god, was once considered to be one of the most beautiful creatures of the ancient world. However, like other bird-women figures, over time they were re-written as evil portents, ugly, and inevitably brought doom to the men who heard their song. In this 2-hour workshop created to honour the female spirit, we will also capture the power of our authentic voices. We will use writing exercises to explore dark sounds, the art of capturing our truths on the page, and what it means to be true to ourselves as female/ female identifying writers. Each participant will have the chance to compose an original piece and receive generative feedback from the group.This workshop was created to support women and female-identifying writers in achieving their desired voice, technique and process, however, writers of all levels and genres who are will to be respectful of this space and its intention are welcome.
All my workshops are safe, intimate and encouraging spaces.
Cost: $25 CAD (please pay in advance to hold your place)
Where: Zoom! Once you have registered and paid, Kayla will send you a zoom link for the workshop
*minimum 2 per workshop

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Write Your own Pillow Book

In ancient Japan, literate and upper class women kept their Makura no Shoshi, their journals and other precious possessions, inside their pillows. Sei Shonagon, an exceptionally talented and educated courtly lady of Heian Japan used different literary and artistic techniques to capture her everyday life. In this 2-hour workshop we will explore excerpts from Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book and discover alternative ways to record our lives. Each participant will explore those techniques and engage in writing exercises that will offer new perspectives and outlets for journaling. Everyone welcome. No writing experience necessary.
All my workshops are safe, intimate and encouraging spaces.
Cost: $25 CAD (please pay in advance to hold your place)
Where: Zoom! Once you have registered and paid, Kayla will send you a zoom link for the workshop
*minimum 2 per workshop

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5 WEEK MARCH MASTERCLASS COURSE: SURFACING THE GREAT POETRY WITHIN YOU

The highest compliment any poet can receive is to make a connection with their reader or audience—to move them. Great poetry, in whatever length or form, will always do this. Great writing also takes risks. But what is great writing & what does this look like for you as a poet wishing to expand their work? This 5 week masterclass course in poetry breaks down many of the critical elements that build great poetry & how a writer grows into them. Participants will have weekly readings (theory, process & poems from living poets) which we will discuss in class.The same skills we use for our weekly readings will then be used to help our fellow writers. Each week two participants will be chosen to submit one poem each. They will receive exclusive in-depth feedback from myself and the group.The two participants selected to submit their poems for generative feedback each week must do so two days before class.
All my courses are safe, intimate & encouraging spaces.
Cost: $150 CAD ($50 deposit to hold your seat and the rest payable by the end of April. Contact me if you would like to arrange a payment plan that suits your budget.)
Where: Zoom! We’ll meet online. Once you register and make your deposit, I’ll send you a zoom link for our weekly classes.
The entire course runs from March 1st to March 29th, 2021.
Cost & registration incl. all 5 weeks +1 hour close reading module.
*maximum 6 participants.

want to work at your own pace with one-on-one guidance? CHeck out my courses & packages!