Parkdale Street Writers,Sagatay Men’s Group,

and inspiring teen boys to write

Presentation by Emily Pohl-Weary, PSW founderwith Benjamin Cope and Adhimu StewartPSW participants, and program assistants

About Emily Pohl-WearyAward-winning author Emily Pohl-Weary’s books include young adult

mystery Strange Times at Western High, poetry collection Iron-on Constellations, ghost love story A Girl Like Sugar, and memoirs of science fiction author Judith Merril: Better to Have Loved. She wrote the four-issue comic Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate (illustrated by Willow Dawson) and edited female superhero anthology Girls Who Bite Back. She co-edited Broken Pencil he’s the former publisher of Kiss Machine, a feminist literary magazine. Her feature-length screenplay received financing from Astral Media. Pohl-Weary holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and is working on a PhD in Adult Education at OISE. She also currently works as an acquisitions editor on McGraw-Hill Ryerson’s new iLit line of high school English resources.

Parkdale Street Writers• Founded in 2008, for 16-29-year-old inner-city youth in the Toronto

neigbourhood where I grew up. • Promotes literacy and self-expression in Toronto’s west-end through hands-

on workshops for young writers run by local authors, cartoonists, filmmakers, and hip hop poets.

• Although South Parkdale is not listed as a priority neighbourhood, the area is one of the few remaining downtown hubs for new immigrants and out-patients from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

• Many youth become involved with the street because they’re dealing with intense social pressures, poverty, and a lack of opportunities.

• The writers who find their way to our programs greatlybenefit from creative outlets that reflect their lives and encourage literacy skills in a safe environment.

• Show publications

Parkdale Street Writers - 1• Founded Parkdale Street Writers in 2008, after a slew of violence

(and mass arrests) in the Toronto neighbourhood where I grew up. I was shocked to discover that some boys I’d known since they were kids couldn’t read their police reports.

• Although South Parkdale is not listed as a priority neighbourhood, the area is one of the few remaining downtown hubs for new immigrants and out-patients from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

• The program runs for two hours every Tuesday, 10 months of the year, for 16-29-year-old youth.

• It’s free, provides a meal, all supplies (minimal) and tokens for those who need them.

Parkdale Street Writers - 2• Promotes literacy and self-expression in Toronto’s west-end through

hands-on workshops for young writers run by local authors, cartoonists, filmmakers, and hip hop poets.

• Many youth become involved with the street because they’re dealing with intense social pressures, poverty, a lack of opportunities, and a sense of futility. Writing helps.

• I remember one particular librarian who worked at the library when I was young: a woman named Rita Cox . She gets partial credit for me becoming a writer.

• Youth coping with adult stresses benefit from creative outlets that reflect their lives and encourage confidence in a safe environment.

• Show publications

Parkdale Street Writers - 3Sample workshop 1 – Speculative Writing:

a) Free writing for 15 min… Share the writingb) Discuss the genres that fall within this umbrella; c) Read a short piece of horror… discuss content and structure; d) Read a short piece of contemporary magical realism… discuss;e) Write some spec lit for ½ hour… Share the writing.

Sample workshop 2 – Publish Yourself in Two Hours:a) Brainstorm theme: “How to Teach Teens NOT to Read and Write”;b) Allow group of 14 into select the topic they want to write about;c) Write on your topic for 15 min… Share/get feedbackd) Edit/rewrite your piece on the correct size pagee) Re-read the pages, give an order, and make a TOC

Sagatay Men’s Writing Group - 1

• A weekly creative writing group through Na-Me-Res’s Sagatay residence for Native men.

• The residents are healing from a range of things, including substance addiction, trauma, and other mental illness.

• Men live at Sagatay for a year and take part in the Apaenmowinneen “having confidence in myself” program.

• My writing group has been an integral part of that program for the past year.

• I only bring in writing that speaks to their life experiences, by FNMI authors and authors of other cultures. Like PSW, we also have guests.

• Some men have chosen to stay in the writing group after their time in the training program is over. Some even come back after they leave Sagatay to write with us.

• I have seen incredible changes in participants as a result of the support and educational initiatives. They open up like clenched fists.

• They make huge advances in confidence and ability to cope with stresses of daily life, gain pride and respect for traditional teachings, learn to handle new challenges in healthy ways, and begin to take steps needed to change life-long patterns and make their dreams happen.

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Sagatay Men’s Writing Group - 2

Sagatay Men’s Writing Group - 3

Sample workshop 1 – Life-Writing: a) Smudge;b) Read “Who I Am” from My Life is My Sundance by Leonard Peltier;c) Discuss structure, voice, content, issues raised, the way that he doesn’t talk much

about himself, but about all Native people in this chapter. Write for 20 min, give the option of sharing and being heard;

d) Read an autobiographical piece by Mohamed Ali. Discuss the differences between the pieces and the content. Write. Share.

Sample workshop 2 – Poetry:a) Smudge;b) Read “I am Not Your Princess,” a poem by Chrystos (Menominee) about

racism/stereotypes disguised as the recipe for fry bread. Discuss the style. Write a poem disguised as something else (as she does). Share.

c) Read “My Father’s Hands,” a poem by Robert Priest about violence by his father and aging. Discuss. Write a poem about fathers. Share.

My Philosophy• No cost. No grades. No homework. No judgment.• Only rules are: to be respectful to others and to remain quiet

when other people read.• I always give the benefit of the doubt because it makes me

happier.• If people want extra writing help, I’m happy to give it outside

workshop time.• Participants must listen actively and give feedback to others.• I ask people to come up with their own

writing ideas and create open-ended exercises related to the readings.

Presentation by Addi Stewart

• About Addi Stewart• History with Parkdale Street Writers• Why PSW works for him• Resources that might inspire boys to

read and write• Suggestions about inspiring teen

boys to read and write

Addi’s Tips Three things that would get boys writing:1. get kids to bring their favorite new CD, and write about

their favorite song on it, and why it’s their favourite2. have them tell a 2-minute story about their neighborhood, and

include 1 thing nobody knows about it3. talk about their favorite sports team and what they think they

could do to improve it

Discussion topics to inspire them:1. What does your favorite music say to you that nothing else in

the world says?2. What would it be like to live inside your favorite video game?3. When do you feel like you need to escape your life? Why?

Benjamin Cope

• About Benjamin Cope• History with Parkdale Street Writers• Why PSW works for him• Resources that might inspire boys to

read and write• Suggestions about inspiring teen

boys to read and write

Ben’s TipsFour resources I’d bring into an English class to inspire boys:1. The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett2. Various works by Neil Gaiman: Sandman, American Gods and Anansi Boys.3. Stray Toasters by Bill Sienkawitz 4. Dr Who episodes! For an awesome series with good storylines and a main character that

is a pretty awesome role model!

Three things that would motivate boys to read and write:1. Help them realize their voices and experiences are unique and valuable.2. A diversity of experience. To bring this to the classroom, you might have to LEAVE the

classroom and go outside. Students need to observe the world. Plan interactive activities. 3. Guest speakers. Make sure they are interesting/relatable people teens can admire in the

context of their own lives. Introduce them to people for whom reading /writing is a large part of their life and who are still cool [i.e. they don't make people think: “I better not read or I might turn out like that loser.”

Writing Exercise

• Get a piece of white paper and a pen• Draw a map of your childhood neighbourhood• While you draw, think of a story about back

them and add specific details that are part of the story to your map

• Anyone want to share their map?• Write the story you drew into your map• Anyone want to share their story?

Questions? Contacts?Parkdale Street Writers:

www.parkdalewriters.ca; info@parkdalewriters.ca

Sagatay (Na-Me-Res:www.nameres.org

Emily Pohl-Weary: www.emilypohlweary.com; emily@openflows.net

Addi Stewart: reverbnation.com/mindbender; mindbendersupreme@gmail.com

Ben Cope:chronologix@gmail.com