David Goudreault has visited hundreds of high schools, prisons, residences for the elderly and community organizations in recent years to pass on a taste for words and writing.
The social worker, novelist and slammer is not fooled, insofar as he knows that it is not all the young people or all of those taking part in his writing workshops who are open to poetry, but each time that he succeeds in swelling the ranks of his literary “army”, he tells himself that he has done something good, as thousands of professors do every day, called upon to transmit knowledge and trigger passions.
In the first episode of the new ICI ARTV series “Du monde, des mots”, it is precisely a question of transmission.
“The idea of the series was to circulate inspiration, also introduce Quebec poets and make poetry accessible,” said the 41-year-old artist on Monday during a virtual round table.
“For me, it was an opportunity to show what I have been doing for the last 10 years when it felt like I was spitting myself out in the media. I still spent most of my time in classrooms, community organizations, dorms, prisons and residences trying to make poetry as interesting and accessible as possible.
The four-episode series, produced by Pamplemousse Média, required many days of filming across Quebec and highlights other poets, as David Goudreault wanted.
Young Michael, a 6th grade student at Sainte-Flore elementary school in Shawinigan, was so impressed by a writing workshop with David Goudreault that he started writing and writing again. Yet it was said that he was not the best in class. On June 18, he will launch his first collection, so it’s never too early – or too late depending on the case – to say what you have to say.
“As part of this series, if only for what happened with Michael, who will publish his collection on June 18, it gives meaning to everything I have been able to do this year,” said says David Goudreault, aware that poetry does not find the same echo in everyone. “But it’s amazing how much people are going to get hooked on poetry, and if it hadn’t been offered to them he would never have known it existed, he would never have known they had it in them.”
He believes that poetry is “saving” among other things. “What’s amazing is that most of the time people will write very close to them, very personal themes. They will take advantage of poetry to practice introspection. […] What is recurring is that people still know how to use poetry to speak truth.
In the other three episodes, it will be about the influence of words, the barriers they break down and their ability to heal ailments, even those most buried.
The “Du monde, des mots” series is presented on ICI ARTV every Friday at 9 p.m., starting May 6.
Photo Courtesy, HERE ARTV