A Matter of Class: Poetry and Social Class in Côte des Neiges
Project Description
The project aims to collect poems written by community members disadvantaged by social class that address class issues, poverty, welfare and working class conditions. The bulk of these poets will be part of the member base of the sponsoring organization, L’Anneau Poétique. However, some may be new recruits from the Côte des Neiges area.
These poems will be collected in their written and audio form (digitally recorded). Interviews (digitally recorded) with the poets will also take place that discuss the poems in question as well as the biographical background of the poet, and the motivations of the poets to write on these themes. Written biographies of the poets will also be collected.
Eventually the recorded poems and interviews will be aired on CKUT radio in collaboration with anti-poverty groups such as Project Genesis and in conjunction with existing radio programs such as the Literary Report. Permission from community members/poets must be granted before any data collection or dissemination takes place.
Project Type
Research paper, Video or audio piece, Please note: Research paper is only if student wishes to do this to meet his/her academic needs, but this is not required)
Skills Required
- English/French. Other languages, especially Arabic and Spanish, are an asset.
- The student researcher should be sensitive to interacting with marginalized community members, some of whom are encountering mental health difficulties, or are encountering joblessness, issues with welfare, discrimination and a host of other social problems.
- Being at ease in an interview situation and manipulating recorders etc. is also essential.
- Someone who is well organized and at ease with e-mail and phone communications.
- A love and appreciation for poetry is a definite asset! As well as a basic knowledge of structural inequalities and resistance/social change.
Support Provided to Researcher
The contact at L’Anneau Poétique knows the community members in question well and can offer advice in terms of interacting with them. She can provide the student researcher with initial direction in terms of who to contact and provide their contact information. She can also provide the student researcher with community contacts in the Côte des Neiges area if the project goes beyond the regular member base of L’Anneau Poétique. The student researcher can turn this contact and to CURE staff for support in any situation of conflict or indecision. Recorders will be provided and interview locations can be arranged with L’Anneau Poetique if necessary.
Organization
L’Anneau Poétique
About the Organization
L’Anneau Poétique was founded by local residents in order to promote poetic expression among the population of Côte-des-Neiges. It particularly encourages participation among those who are low-income persons or/and recently arrived immigrants, but is open to anyone interested in poetry. The group aims at promoting poetry as a means of community and social action and to fight injustice.