The Goblin Markets is here and it’s fab!
Thank you to our Black Fruit Fellows, Kahsenniyo Kick, and George Elliott Clarke for your incisive poetry. Special thanks to Patricia Arhinson and Madeleine Vien for your editorial assistance, and to Alan Wright for designing and editing this anthology. Also, many thanks to Kaya Joan and Raegen Montaque for their beautiful art.
Last (but certainly not least!) thank you to Christopher Smith and Dana Seitler at the Queer and Trans Research Lab for your unwavering support throughout this artist residency.
My deepest gratitude to you all.
Brian Rigg, Creator, Black Fruit Press
The Black Fruit Poetry Workshop
A FREE weeklong creative space where talented 2SLGBTQ+ and BIPOC poets can explore and develop their craft with the help of supportive peers and experienced facilitators.
Submissions for the Black Fruit Poetry Workshop are now closed.
All applicants will be notified by Wednesday May 1, 2024.
Details
The workshop will run from May 13 – 17, 2024, and will take place at University College, 15 King’s College Circle. It will be in-person only, with each day starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m. with the exception of Monday, May 13 which will run from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. There will be an hour break for lunch, which will be provided (vegan options available). The main University College building currently features two accessible entrances on the north and south sides of the building. In addition, University College has two gender neutral washrooms in the building. Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided; however, masks are not mandatory.
The group will include approximately 10 participants. At the beginning of the week, everyone will receive electronic and hard copies of each other’s submitted work (5 – 10 pages). During workshop hours, participants will give and receive editorial suggestions from the group in a spirit of generosity and solidarity. The hope and aim is for our writers to learn and grow from the constructive feedback they receive.
Kahsenniyo and George will help guide the conversation and offer a wider literary frame. Participants are encouraged to share work that is personally inspiring to them: a favourite poem, book, lyric, etc. Daily writing prompts and learning materials will be provided. We will also discuss ways of navigating the contest and publishing industries.
As a companion piece, we hope to publish a zine featuring works from the workshop.
Questions? Get in touch!
Kahsenniyo Kick
Facilitator
Kahsenniyo is a multi disciplinary artist from the Mohawk Nation, Wolf clan from Six Nations territory. Her personal story is one of great struggle and triumph. She draws on her personal experience of teenage motherhood, intergenerational trauma, indigenous resistance, and mothering through colonialism to create her art. Kahsenniyo is also a survivor of Forced Sterilization and an advocate against this ongoing practice in Canada. Kahsenniyo is also a survivor of Indian Day Schools. She has spent almost two decades on the front lines of numerous Indigenous resistance actions and has been a fierce advocate for Indigenous rights, climate change, youth, women, and 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Through the magic of art and poetry she has been working tirelessly to break cycles of violence for herself, her children and her community. Overall, her art aims to educate non-indigenous people about the struggles, challenges and realities facing Indigenous people. As well her work attempts to create moments of understanding, connection, and healing for Indigenous People. She is a beautiful storyteller who transforms her deep love for her community and people into passionate performances and artwork.
George Elliott Clarke
Guest Speaker
The 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and the 7th Parliamentary/Canadian Poet Laureate (2016-17), George Elliott Clarke was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1960. A professor of English at the University of Toronto, Clarke has also taught at Duke, McGill, UBC, and Harvard. His recognitions include the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Centre Fellowship (US), the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, the National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry, the Premiul Poesis (Romania), the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (US), and International Fellow Poet of the Year, Encyclopedic Poetry School [2019] (China). His acclaimed titles include Whylah Falls (1990, translated into Chinese), Beatrice Chancy (1999, translated into Italian), Execution Poems (2001), Blues and Bliss (selected poems, 2009), I & I (2008), Illicit Sonnets (U.K., 2013), Traverse (2015), and Canticles II (MMXX) (2020). Since 1983, he has published some 25 volumes of poetry.
We would like to thank the Queer and Trans Research Lab at the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto, for their generous support.
Black Fruit Press 