Poet Loryn Brantz's Inauguration 2025 has resonated deeply with me- and other educators- navigating these challenging times. Her words remind us that the daily work of teaching, building community, and creating spaces for critical thinking is itself an act of resistance.

This workshop engages students in creating poetry through reflecting on personal connections to place. Stories and history are everything- they are how we understand the world around us and our experiences. Now more than ever we are forced to think about the spaces we inhabit. While we may be losing a sense of community, or a sense of self, as we move into physical isolation there remains a way in which we can deepen our thinking about space and belonging.
Look out for tips marked by an asterisk (*) on how to virtually facilitate this interactive poetry workshop. 

In the Aftermath Project, director Sarah Terry reminds us that war is only half the story:  "To be fully informed, we have to know the stories of post-conflict."  It is in these stories, "where we are constantly redefining what it means to be human, what it means to live again, to rebuild civil society, to recover from trauma.  If we don't know these stories, then we don't really understand the world we live in, and we will repeat history again and again and again."  Through her poetry, Holocaust survivor Donia Blumenfeld Clenman conveyed some of these essential stories of the aftermath of genocide.  With clarity, humanity and gentleness, her words connect us to her struggles, and teach us what it means to face - and recover - from trauma. In the month of her passing, we remember her legacy and honour her words.