TALKING TROUBLES: A SPOKEN WORD WORKSHOP with Thandiwe McCarthy

(Thandiwe shared a Spoken Word workshop with us during the WFNB’s online pandemic version of WordSpring back in 2021, and the workshop experience was intimate, heartfelt and surprisingly emotional. We’ve asked him to return to give a similar workshop, but this time—yay!—It’ll be live and in-person.)

Using everyday problems as the fuel to create this two hour workshop will explore the basics of spoken word poetry through the lens of emotional wellness. The goal is that by the end of the workshop participants will be able to turn any problem into poetry. In learning to speak with different emotions the participants will come away from this workshop knowing a bit more about the practice of spoken word poetry and themselves.

Thandiwe McCarthy

Thandiwe McCarthy is a writer, spoken word poet, and 7th generation Black Canadian. As a writer, Thandiwe has published essays with the Nova Scotia Advocate exploring his Black identity. In 2020 Thandiwe performed his poetry at Atlantic Canada’s largest literary event: Frye Festival, at Fredericton’s FLOURISH festival for art, and UNB’s 2020 Art Centre exhibit: ‘Rediscovering the Roots of Black New Brunswickers’. Thandiwe McCarthy lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick and has recently completed his memoir titled Social Oblivion: Raised Black in New Brunswick.