September 27th. This event features workshops, art exhibit, poetry, theatre, music & more

Nancy Bauer, author, founding member and honourary president of the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick (WFNB), will join Malahat Review editor John Barton as guest presenters at the inaugural WordTravels in northern Carleton County, Saturday, September 27, which will also feature an art exhibit by Aunty Political, book launch, readings and music. WordTravels is a new outreach initiative of WFNB, to provide writers in non-urban communities with learning and networking opportunities, with Canada Council assistance.  

The September 27 event leads off a series of events that will take place throughout the Province and will pair authors from outside and within NB to share and showcase Canada's rich literary tradition and talent. A second full-day get-together will take place in Shediac on October 2, as Barton former writer in residence at the Saskatoon Public Library and at the University of New Brunswick, continues his New Brunswick tour in support of the Province's writing community. For the first two events, the featured NB authors  are Ann Brennan, author of The Real Klondike Kate, The Hawthorn Bush, as well as several collections of poetry, and poet Rose Depr�s,  a literary mentor and creator, she is also an accredited translator, musician, spokesperson, dancer, actress, artistic and literary director as well as a teacher and yoga instructor.

The Florenceville-Bath event starts with a Morning Gathering

The first event in northern Carleton County leads off with an informal gathering for writers at the home of Ann Brennan, also a founding member of WFNB, in South Johnville at 10 a.m. Brennan will be joined by her daughter Rayanne, immediate past president of WFNB, and WFNB's new regional representative for Carleton County, Brigitte Marsden, in starting a conversation over coffee on the creative writing process.

Afternoon Workshops

Marsden, a columnist with the local weekly newspaper The Bugle-Observer, will also lead one of two concurrent workshops that afternoon at the Andrew & Laura McCain Gallery in Florenceville-Bristol.  She will speak on using mindfulness and yoga to enhance writing. Owner of Creative Flow, Marsden is a mindful yoga teacher, freelance writer and educator who lives in Woodstock.

Bauer, who is columnist for The Telegraph Journal's Salon section will draw on her extensive background to offer safe advice to inspiring writers in her talk later that afternoon.

Barton, who is author of 11 collections of poetry and six chapbooks, will present the second workshop on poetry, entitled "Putting Yourself on the Line." Barton will discuss strategies for the line, including length, pace, metrics, and the importance of knowing where the line should break. Participants are invited to submit one piece in advance, to be discussed during the workshop, with a focus on the line, with strategies for revision proposed by Barton and the other participants.

Cost for each workshop is $20 and can be paid at the door. For more information and to pre-register, email WFNB's executive director Warren Maddox, at info@wfnb.ca or telephone (506) 260-3564.

Evening Salon

That evening, the Bath Meeting House and Gallery  262 will present an Evening Salon, a special program of poetry, art, theatre and music featuring a mixed media installation by Aunty Political entitled "I Heart the Tar Sands", a sculptural retroaction, which has been four years in the making,  and a poetry reading by John Barton. The event will also celebrate the launch of a new collection of poetry, Earth Carries Spirit, by local writer Ann Brennan, and the debut of a new Woodstock publishing house, Chapel Street Editions. The Monquartet will provide entertainment throughout.

Then WordTravels moves to Shediac on October 2nd.

Thursday, October 2nd 2 - 5 pm

John Barton will continue his tour of New Brunswick with another workshop presented by the Writers Federation of New Brunswick and the Canada Council.
 

John has offered to look at a single poem from each in advance if participants wish to submit their writing to info@wfnb.ca or wfnb82@gmail.com. Warren Maddox, Executive Director of the WFNB, will forward them to John Barton.

Deadline for submissions is Sept. 20. If a writer misses that deadline, he or she can still participate in the workshop. He or she will just not be able to have John look at the work ahead of time.

From 6:00pm an evening of readings and music will follow the workshop - and is open to all.

John Barton will be reading, as will NB poet Rose Depr�s. Highly regarded in the writing, publishing, musical, artistic and cultural Acadian community, provincially, nationally and internationally, Rose Despr�s is not only a literary mentor and creator, she is also an accredited translator, musician, spokesperson, dancer, actress, artistic and literary director as well as a teacher and yoga instructor.

The evening is free. There will be an open mic

For those of you who have sent in your renewals, thank you so much for your continued support. Your membership means a great deal to the organization, not just for the operational funds it provides for the organization but also for the numbers it allows us to promote to other funding partners. There truly is strength in numbers. We need to be able to show that we are a strong organization to those who will consider our applications for support, this ranges from the Canada Council to the Province of NB to corporations. We need our numbers. 

If you haven't renewed, please take a couple of minutes and drop a cheque in the mail to us. If you are finding hard to make ends meet, send Warren an email and he will work something out with you. Whatever the case, WFNB NEEDS you, RENEW TODAY!