MargoBates-SteveWebster-EnricoRenz with SanaJanjua & VirginiaGillespie at Word Arts LIVE ‘Ages & Stages’ – 14 January 2018

You are invited to the second session of Word Arts LIVE series at Alexandra Neighborhood House. Unlike the first one, this is a theme-based session titled ‘Ages & Stages: Dreams, reality checks and things that go bump in the night’ contemplating youthfulness, adulthood and golden years through the perspectives of an author, a poet and a performer. The session consists of three events with plenty of discussion time.

On January 14th, ‘youthfulness’ will be explored by Author Margo Bates, Poet Steve Webster and Performer Enrico Renz with Host Sana Janjua and Discussion Facilitator Virginia Gillespie.

Margo Bates

Margo is the author of P.S. Don’t Tell Your Mother and The Queen of a Gated Community who teaches workshops on research strategies for writing, storytelling, and publicity for authors. She is now working on her third title The Funeral Follower. A professional member and the past president of Canadian Authors-Metro Vancouver, she is a member of its Program & Publicity Committee, and has served nationally as vice-chair and as chair of the Fundraising & Sponsorship Committee. Since 1980, Margo has worked on high-profile public relations projects and events in Canada, the United States and England with her Vancouver-based company, Margo Bates Publicity. She belongs to the Federation of BC Writers and RCLAS – Royal City Literary Arts Society. She’s an alumna of Erma Bombeck Humour Writers Workshop, University of Dayton, Ohio. And, she’s a darn good cook.
margobates.com

Steve Webster

Steve is part of Cedar Bark Poets, a poetry reading group he helped establish a few years back that meets in Newton each month. Though he is not ‘really a Bio kind of guy’, he did say this about himself: ‘An apparently failed recluse. A bodger and man of reuse, semi-bohemian life long Newton resident and Surrey volunteer, with hands in far too many pots. Builder, gardener, poet, amounts others, and master of none, but enjoys seeing where the world goes.’
spiresplace@yahoo.ca

Enrico Renz

Enrico is a singer and songwriter who plays guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. He has released a cd titled Skytrain as part of Secret Messengers. Enrico co-hosts a weekly Songwriters Open Mic with Lawren Nemeth and Lilija Valis in New Westminster. In his journey into music, he experienced a long period where he chose to withhold writing, composing and singing. Meanwhile, everything else was on the go including playing improvised music and chess(!) both entwined into the process of creating songs. Enrico’s country of origin is Switzerland, and he recognizes Italian and Swiss-German as mother languages. Enrico lives and teaches in Burnaby.
enrico-renz-surrey-muse

Sana Janjua

Sana is a poet, performer and playwright. Her writings have been published at The Laaltain, Mayanaam and Uddari Weblog, and she has presented monologues at various cultural and literary events. Her play Migration, written and directed for a group of Pakistani-Canadian youth, expresses the experience of loneliness and pathos of (forced) migration and exile. Her monologue Smaller Names explores the dynamics of silencing of women’s voices/stories and the trauma and shame they endure as they speak. She has hosted events to commemorate Poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Women’s International Day, and book launching ceremonies for authors. A Founding Member and the President of Surrey Muse, Sana is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse, and enjoys working in the field of mental health.
sanajanjua@gmail.com

Virginia Gillespie

Virginia is a writer, arts advocate and the Artistic Director of VG PlayRoom, a multi-disciplinary arts incubator with a Word Studio to develop projects and events in the Verbal Arts. She is a co-founder, co-organizer and the host of Word Arts LIVE! series.
vgplayroom

Word-Arts LIVE!
Sunday January 14, 2018
3-5 pm, Media Room
Upstairs The Lodge
Alexandra Neighborhood House
2916 McBride Avenue, Surrey BC

Series co-founded and co-organized by Fauzia Rafique

We are grateful to the City of Surrey for the 2017 Cultural Project Grant for Word-Arts events, forums and training. Alexandra Neighbourhood House is home base and a strong supporter.

For more information and to participate, contact
Virginia Gillespie
vgplayroom@gmail.com
Fauzia Rafique
surrey.muse@gmail.com

Word Arts LIVE Series is a collaboration
between VG PlayRoom and Surrey Muse At Large (SMAL)

Surrey Muse At Large (SMAL) operates on
the unceded territories of the
Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Surrey Muse At Large (SMAL) is a project of
Surrey Muse.
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