Atlantic Publishers team up with YWCA for potent writing program

The uber pulled up to the corner of Gottingen and Uniake Street. I’d been advised to schedule plenty of time for this interview in case I had anywhere to go afterward. I did. I would be giving my first talk at Dalhousie University to a creative writing class after this. I took the advice and scheduled a two-hour slot.  

I walked to the house on the corner of the row and up the steps to iMOVE, which stands for In My Own Voice and serves as a recording-studio community-gathering space. Deb was there waiting. Or did I arrive first? On the main floor of the two-story row house, we sat on chairs across from each other.  

Equipped with my phone recorder and selfie stick, which served as an extension bar, I pressed record and let Deb do her thing. She had been the first to volunteer to tell her story as part of the writing residency—a collaborative initiative hosted by the YWCA and Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association.  

The goal was for me to work with anyone—staff or clients of the YWCA—to share any story they wanted to tell with one end result of being published. They could share their life story or just one story of their life. They didn’t even have to write about themselves at all.  

Deb had volunteered to share her story of being a sex worker. She calls it her time in the war.  

She spoke about how her parents met, her childhood influences and the many paths she took which eventually led her to getting her holistic-veterinary-assistance licence at age 56, then to her role at the YWCA. She was open, confident, irreverent and humorous about everything she had gone through.  

She would branch off and come back to the main storyline.  Her commentary and reflections added depth and perspective.  

Why she shared? “I want to be the person that, if someone else is just starting their journey of healing themselves, I will walk with you. I can’t do it for you but my hand will be there if you need to grab a hold of it.” 

We finished recording and she agreed to take a photo with me. Outside, I mentioned that I would be giving a talk at Dalhousie. I decided to take the bus between the two locations. Deb let me know which bus would take me close to my destination. As I looked into my purse for exact change, Deb reached into hers and pulled out bus tickets for me.  

Feeling almost like a little girl receiving a treat from a neighborhood auntie, I thanked her for the ticket, for her time and for passing on courage to others coming out of the war.  

To be the first HERStory Writer in Residence has been an honour. I am grateful for all I was able to do:  serve as a writing coach and workshop facilitator; write my first book review; help create a database for Atlantic authors; bond with APMA staff over lunch; write poems with young moms and be moved to tears; and finally, hear about how Chris Benjamin and Miia Suokonautio dreamed up how they could create a space for lesser heard stories and then made it happen.  

To each woman who made time to sit with me in trust, courage, and creativity each week, I thank you all so much. Our meetings were truly highlights of my days.  

Read from HERstory writers Becky Nicholas and Jill Clairo.

Poet, writer and dancer Abena Beloved Green (Abena A. Tuffour) seeks to create, engage and elevate through words and movement. She teaches people to write stories of their own through workshops and coaching. She is the author of two poetry collections: The Way We Hold On and Ode to the Unpraised.