The auditorium of the East York library may have been cold, but the sharing of poems brought comfort and warmth to an event held as part of a program to promote arts and culture in diverse communities.
The S. Walter Stewart library hosted Ontario’s Culture Days over the last weekend of September. The program was launched in 2010.
Toronto poet-singer Honey Novick hosted the “Have Fun with Poetry!” workshop on Friday (Sept. 28).
“Poetry is a tool that serves as a connection to another person,” Novick told attendees. She identified “sincerity” as the driving force behind her work as a poet. Having interest in whatever you’re writing is one of the most important factors in creating poems, she added.
“While poetry can make us vulnerable, it allows us to communicate our experiences with one another,” Novick said. This was proven when participants were asked to write their own “I am” poems. The process of writing a poem involved using both the imaginative and the factual, and piecing it together with the use of senses.
“I thought that writing this poem required thought but was very engaging at the same time,” said local librarian Tara Stadius.
Attendees were able to create their own poems and read their work to one another, and take home with them a better understanding of the art of poetry.