Our Stories, Our Power: A Writing Workshop for Incarcerated Men
This two-part writing workshop is an invitation for Black storytellers of all backgrounds to gather, reflect, write, and share stories that explore themes of home, heritage, and hope.
Through guided prompts, we will explore our relationship to our own specific cultural roots and lean into the power of our stories and voice. We focus on play and process with no pressure or expectation to be polished or profound. Instead, we make space to discover some of the many ways we can tell our stories through words, images, and sound. Together, we step outside our usual routines and experience how sharing our truth can connect and empower us in fun and unexpected ways!
CUrriculum designers
Andrea Thompson
Andrea Thompson (MFA) is a writer, educator, and award-winning spoken word artist who has been designing and delivering creative writing workshops for over 25 years. With a focus on work that celebrates inclusivity, accessibility, and the celebration of Black voice, Thompson’s writing and performances aim to empower and uplift.
Throughout her career, Thompson’s passion has been facilitating workshops that offer vulnerable populations the opportunity to use creativity as a tool to foster self-knowledge, confidence, and emotional well-being. Thompson currently teaches creative writing through the University of Toronto’s Department of English and Drama. Her most recent work is The Good Word, an exploration of the intersection of Black history and faith, and Complex, a multimedia project focused on mental health.
Justine Abigail Yu
Justine Abigail Yu (she/her) is the founder of Living Hyphen, a community that explores what it means to live in between cultures as a hyphenated Canadian – that is, an individual who calls Canada home but who has roots elsewhere.
She is an award-winning workshop facilitator whose work with Living Hyphen has been featured on national and local media outlets, including the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, CTV National News, and the CBC. She was also named a “Changemaker” by the Toronto Star in October 2021.
Justine Abigail is a fierce advocate for equity and anti-oppression. Her mission is to stir the conscience and spur social change.
BRING LIVING HYPHEN TO YOUR Community
At Living Hyphen, we take a decolonial, intersectional, and anti-oppressive approach to our writing workshops and storytelling circles. We believe in the power of storytelling to heal relationships, reinforce our collective memory, resist systems of oppression, and transform our world.
We are proud to have worked with a diverse array of partners to share our approach to storytelling and create ripples of change. Get in touch to explore how we might be able to work together!