Hello! I’m Christine Bissonnette, the lead teacher and owner of 9 Creative Lives Studio.
I am a poetry writing facilitator, Speech Arts teacher and adjudicator, developmental editor, and certified breathexperience teacher passionate about unleashing the creativity of my students through curriculum that celebrates their curiosity and unique way of seeing the world.
My Speech Arts students have won first place in speech competitions at their school, taken home medals (like ‘the outstanding acting award’ and the ‘outstanding monologue performance award’) at various festivals, and have received First Class Honours for their Speech Arts RCM Exams.
The students from my poetry writing workshops have received poetry fellowships, published chapbooks (some of which I’ve helped edit), won awards in literary magazines… and on many occasions those same students arrived in my class feeling blocked and unsure of their relationship to poetry.
As a poet and performer, my work has been featured on Downtown Vancouver’s Poetry Phone installation (to uplift Vancouverites at the start of the pandemic), the Stories Less Spoken Podcast (audio format), Surkeus Magazine, and The Afterpast Review. Left Opened (a short film I co-produced) combined poetry, music, and dance to explore anxiety, and toured film festivals internationally in 2020. Most recently, I was featured in episode 1 of the STORYHIVE funded ‘Heal Through Poetry’ 8 episode series, directed by Garima Soni.
I’ve performed on stages all over Vancouver, including opening for Danielle LaPorte as part of the Rise Women’s Conference, and featuring at the Vancouver Poetry Slam (the oldest poetry slam in Canada) in 2018 and the Women of the World Poetry Slam Finals in 2019.
Who have I worked with?
I’ve designed and taught workshops on writing poetry and the art of performance through Vancouver Biennale’s BIG IDEAS program, ArtStarts in Schools, FestivELLE, and the Pacific Northwest Music Festival.
I’ve also facilitated poetry writing experiences as a way of connecting colleagues in a deeper way (fostering bonding and empathy) through CreativeMornings HQ, RRC Polytech, and others.
Education / Training
I have my BA in English and creative writing with a minor in theatre from UNB Fredericton. This nationally-recognized creative writing program took place in a small one room school house called ‘The Ice House‘. It was an incredible experience and… I walked away from my degree with some bad writing habits that I talk about here.
I’m currently working toward my Applied Poetry Facilitator certification through the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy (IFBPT)
Additional courses / programs:
- Ethics of Therapeutic Writing Practice Course – Journalversity (created by Kay Adams | 2024
- Arrivals Legacy Voice Project | 2024
- Group Training and Facilitation – on the psychology of facilitating groups – Conestoga College | 2023
- Positive approaches to behaviour and inclusion – Kinsight Community Society | 2022
- Supporting students with autism: training session – Canucks Autism Network | 2021
- Breathexperience Canada Teacher Certification Program – 3 1/2 year program | 2020
- Anti-Oppression Training – Cicely Blain Consulting | 2020
- Canada’s National Voice Intensive – 4 week program (based on the work of Kristen Linklater and Iris Warren.) | 2016
- and more
Questions? Ready to work together?
View my upcoming classes. Or send me an email at: christine@9creativelives.com