Sarah Kate MacKinnon and Sarah Blanchard organized the first event and Blanchard says, “We were hoping for a modest crowd but were very overjoyed that the first event was packed. The response from people who were there was really fantastic. We kept having people asking when the next one would be.”
Blanchard adds, “This time around we have more of an open mic session and less of an organized reading, although we do have some featured poets lined up to keep the ball rolling.”
The youngest presenter at the first event was 14 years old and Blanchard says this event should also be considered an all ages event, both for audience and presenters.
As with the first event, the second evening will also feature music from local singer/songwriters.
Blanchard says before she and MacKinnon came to work on “Write Out Loud”, they knew each other through their work in the local theatre community.
“I had heard Sarah Kate’s spoken word at a Youth Ideas Powered By Passion event a couple of years ago,” Blanchard recalls. “After the event this past year, she had had a number of people asking her about spoken word. I had wanted to work on a project with her and pitched the idea of a poetry evening at Dr. Luke’s.”
Along with the reading event, Blanchard and MacKinnon have other plans for “Write Out Loud”.
“We had been planning an August workshop but it’s been postponed until the fall,” Blanchard says. “The workshops are going to be geared to getting people writing and introduced to spoken word. We are hoping to connect new poets with more experienced ones as well.”
“There is a really great community atmosphere with theatre and music and we really wanted to make a space for writers and poets to come together as well,” Blanchard says.
Anyone wishing to know more about “Write Out Loud”, or possibly sign up for the open mic, may visit their Facebook page.
