A Moncton writer is working to bring poetry into the lives of incarcerated women in New Brunswick.
For the past two years, Kayla Geitzler has offered a six-week poetry course twice a year to women at the Women’s Correctional Centre in Miramichi.
The first course included more than poetry, she said.
“It looked at a whole bunch of different kinds of writing, but the women really seemed to pull more towards the poetry,” Geitzler said in an interview on Information Morning Fredericton.
While she thinks her poetry group is a first at the prison, she said the Miramichi Literary Council also has a book club at the institution.
The women she’s encountered at the correctional centre trust her and open up to her, she said.
“Most of them have never written poetry before but I’m always blown away by just how much talent they have, and I’m always really grateful.”
“But usually when I give a workshop for the public, there’s almost always one person who’s just really talented and could go on to have a writing career.”
Some of the women use poetry to ponder life once they get out of prison, and their resiliency and humour also comes out through writing, Geitzler said.
“They grow in confidence over time and and they seem to feel better about themselves,” she said.
“I think that’s really my job, is to just to bring the power of poetry and that sort of transformation … into this milieu and to help as much as I can.”
Geitzler also said she is astonished at the honesty that comes through in the poetry.
“I think that’s part of maybe the healing process too, is they find catharsis in writing, which is the point of poetry I think for a lot of us.”
The group aspect of the poetry workshops also makes a difference, she added.
“It moves me a lot to actually just to see, despite the challenges that they do face, that they’re very resilient, that they are so supportive of each other and their writing.”
This fall, the Miramichi Literacy Council published the first volume of poetry written by some of the women, called We The Women, We Strive.
“So it’s something they can put on a resume if they do want a writing career. They already have their first publication ready,” she said.
“And you know, it’s their voice and it’s what they want to say.”