Lexi Saldaña
Daily Herald
The Prince Albert Writers’ Group has hosted a reading at the John M. Cuelenaere Public Library Wednesday afternoon, sharing a collection of stories and poems written by the members of the club.
“We get together, we do writing, we talk about what some of our blocks might be with writing,” said member Marjorie Roden.
The group holds meetings twice a month where they are given a safe space to explore their work, receiving and giving feedback to one another, and an opportunity to connect with other passionate writers.
“It’s anything from what we’re working on to what we’re having problems with, to what kind of typing our cats do,” joked Roden.
Members of the group come from various walks of life and experiences with literature. For Roden, after returning from Regina, she realized she needed to join a group to talk about her work.
“I’m still a grad student at the University of Regina, but I needed someplace to be where I could talk about my writing and work with people alongside me, and not necessarily an academic group,” she said.
Secretary and treasurer of the group, Cheryl Lloyd, joined after finishing her novel.
“I didn’t know what to do with it. So, I came through to the first meeting in the hopes of learning something about publishers that I could take home and sort of sneak in there when nobody was looking,” said Lloyd.
Lloyd eventually found a publisher through Amazon, and is now a self-published author.
As for Velma Young, the club’s president, this is her second time joining the group. She described herself as a “reluctant president” but appreciates what the group offers.
“The first time I was in the club was until I moved, and then I came back and then I tried to get started again,” explained Young. “It’s really an interesting group … and I’ve always believed in it.”
Wednesday’s reading was held in the Grace Campbell Gallery at the library and included various stories such as a story about Young’s cat, ‘The Life of (my) Meesie’, and Lloyd’s fiction story, ‘The Soldier’.
Lloyd said these meetings and readings were important to her as she lacked the support she needed for her work.
“I’ve not had family to support my work, except maybe as a kind of a pat on the head and a doggy biscuit,” she said. “I don’t have family here in town. These guys are it.”
Roden added that it’s a judgment free community.
“It gives them a chance to express themselves in a written form and to be able to share it with other people who aren’t going to say, ‘You spelled that wrong,’ or ‘You have a typo here’,” she said.
Alongside being a safe space for dedicated yet shy writers, Lloyd believes it’s also beneficial for individuals learning English.
“It’s a way of learning without learning the vernacular, without having to sit at a desk and study,” said Lloyd.
The Prince Albert Writers’ Group is a welcoming space for all writers of all ages, backgrounds, and experience with writing with meetings bi-monthly at the John M. Cuelenaere Library.
“It’s a good group, and I’d be lost without it, actually,” said Young.
