These Halifax artists are teaching teens the power of the written word

Sue Goyette, Halifax’s Poet Laureate, knows kids today are facing a lot—but she also knows they are more than rising to the occasion. “Like, look at Greta [Thunberg]: When I go to the Friday climate marches, those young people that were organizing it would get the mic, and talk in poems,” she says, speaking with The Coast by phone. “And I think poetry also reminds us of our humaneness, our feeling, how we think sometimes with our heart and our gut. And that is a different kind of brain—just as legitimate as a logical, cognitive way of being. I just think we need to hear from our youth because they are so wise about what they need. And rather than us making those decisions for them, I think it’s really important that we create space for them to write down what they do, indeed, think and need.”

Goyette is taking her own advice literally: Alongside poet-author Andre Fenton and local theatre mainstay Meg Hubley, she’s co-created a weekly writer’s circle for youth in grades six to 12. Held Thursdays in February from 3:45-5:45pm at The Bus Stop Theatre—with snacks and bus tickets provided—the space sees a small team of experienced writers guiding attendees with themes and creative exercises. From poetry to graphic novels, it’s all here, Goyette adds. (The free event is drop-in, but attendees can also register in advance by emailing
writerscircle@busstoptheatre.coop.)

Called Write Your Heart Out, Goyette knows the meet-up would’ve been the exact thing she could’ve used at that age: As a teen “I had a journal and I would write madly and operatically about my life. The angers and the instant, total loves I would fall into: My journal was a place where I reckoned with myself,” Goyette recalls. At the Thursday night drop-ins, a mix of self-discovery and expression meets community and connection. It’s the antidote for angst, basically.

“So these are our future leaders,” she adds. “This is our future, essentially. And it’s like giving them a good creative practice, no matter what they grow into being, it’s gonna serve them in all kinds of ways. And I think serve the planet in all kinds of ways. So it’s kind of it’s not selfish, but me thinking, ‘Okay, this is a way to pollinate the future, and the minds of the future, with with a sense of creativity.'” She continues: “We were talking yesterday, and Andre [Fenton] mentioned how spoken word taught him empathy, because we have to learn to listen. And a big part of poetry and writing is not just the actual writing, but observing and listening—and considering what it’s like for other things, and other people. And I think all those skills are applicable to just being an all around good person.”