Open Mic April 9th
- Kellt Wilk
- Apr 9
- 2 min read
Guess where I will be lining up to do a brief reading tonight with my peeps from the Firefly Community! I can't believe that Firefly Creative Writing is 20 years old! They have also announced that they will officially be moving to St. Matthews Club House to run their In Person Workshops so take a look before I get mushy.
I met my writing coach around the same time I met my late wife Kara. They got to know both of us through my stories. I got to know myself through my stories! I found that "the brutal exercise in honesty" that was memoir writing, was the best way to reach and tell the most important stories of my life.
It was there that I found my authentic voice as a writer and my passion for memoir. It also gave me a place to explore poetry, fiction, short stories, novel writing and eventually come back to my long lost love of fantasy. They gave me a chance to present my work to the community, to get back on stage and read my work at public events. It allowed me to step into my power and confidence in myself and my craft.
Chris K Fraser and Firefly Creative Writing has been so immensely important to me as a person and a writer. They stood up to support me at the most difficult time of my life and got me through the death of my wife at 34. Especially in The Further Shore, a writing workshop series facilitated by the amazing Brittany Smith, about death and loss. They gave me the gift of community, support, understanding, encouragement, friendship and the space to grieve and write the way I needed to. Chris even organized the community members to deliver my son and I Friday night dinners, they were my superheroes! If you need a place to cradle your experienced or just fledgling writers voice highly recommend jumping in head first, they will catch you!
Through their online support, events, workshops, weekly classes, the Hello Writer mail subscription, weekend retreats and one-on-one support I found a way to write myself through my loss and come out the other side laughing. Chris offered me a free Blog writing workshop which inspired The High-Flying Adventures of Captain Grief, the memoir I wrote that year which was self published June 2024. I look at Chris as Captain Grief's God Mother.
Fireflies, I will bring copies. $25 for a paperback. I take credit and cash.
Where: St. Matthews Club House
When: Wednesday April 9th
Address: 450 Broadview Ave.
Time: Doors open at 7pm.
You are invited! Our 20th birthday celebration is an in-person Open Mic, this Wednesday April 9th at St. Matthew’s Clubhouse in Toronto. Doors open at 7pm. It’s a fully accessible space, with an industrial HEPA air filter, and the event is free. (thanks to @eastendartsto).
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