Online Master Class: Using the Tools of Poetry in Memoir (Yvonne Blomer)

Using the Tools of Poetry in Memoir 

The act of writing about one’s life is a creative act, and so the result, poem or memoir, is a single take on the life event. In each of these genres, we can represent our experiences and ourselves differently. In poetry we can explore who the “I” might be and its varied facets, but in memoir the “I” is pretty much always the writer/speaker of the narrative. In this class we will use some of the tools of poetry to tackle tricky subjects in memoir and come up with unique, alternative, or metaphoric ways to write personal story that gives us some emotional space. 

Yvonne Blomer lives on the traditional territories of the WSÁNEC´ (Saanich) peoples of the Coast Salish Nation. Her most recent book is The Last Show on Earth (Caitlin Press, 2022). In September 2022, Palimpsest Press released Book of Places 10th Anniversary Edition with new poems and layout. Sugar Ride: Cycling from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur is her memoir exploring body, time, and travel. Yvonne is the past Poet Laureate of Victoria, B.C., and Arc Magazine’s poet-in-residence for 2022-23. Yvonne teaches classes in poetry and memoir to students across North America via Zoom and prior to the pandemic taught at Camosun College.

Fee: $30 CNFC Members, $50 Non-Members

NOTE: You must register for the ONLINE conference before registering for this Zoom-only master class