Michelle Doege

What participants have to say ….

“Michelle doesn’t just tell us ‘this is what a poem is’ – she shows us and is open to whatever we want to write.  This is not your Grade 10 - English Literature class, where you discuss Keats & Wordsworth.  This is a cathartic meeting of people who are interested in and love poetry in an open, inviting and creative environment.  Highly recommended!”

~ Kristin Froneman, Writer & Journalist

“This was such an incredible group, and Michelle, a fantastic facilitator – so encouraging and engaging with lots of helpful information and examples. Excellent examples of poetry and poetic forms: Learning, Laughter, Voice and the freedom to express in an open and supportive environment!”

“Michelle, herself an inspired writer, encouraged our creative voices in a relaxed and warm atmosphere of learning and respect. I looked forward to every one of our six Saturday meetings, enjoying camaraderie with other writers as we read and shared poems under Michelle’s attentive guidance. The workshop, designed for practiced and less experienced writers alike, was indeed “poetry for all.” I feel newly inspired in my own writing and am eager for Michelle’s next workshop!”

~ Chris Thorpe, author of Survival Strategies

Valley Voices Okanagan - Reading Series

Co-Founder and Organizer of Valley Voices Okanagan, a reading series to celebrate local writing and writers at all ages and stages of their craft. Valley Voices began in 2023 with readings in Vernon, Kelowna and Summerland and are filled with creative energy, joy and community.

Belonging: A Reflection on Creative Resistance & Resilience

Engaging creative expression to capture and communicate our experiences as we live, as a member of a diverse group, in small town British Columbia, in our case, Vernon, BC.

Our Queer Diversity – Poetry Workshop Facilitator

"We ache to walk boldly down the streets of Vernon – flaunting our Queer and colorful selves – knowing we will be respected and safe, even celebrated, for the beauty of who we are."   - md

Dedications:

To the Okanagan Syilx people who lived here long before us, our gratitude and indebtedness to you.

To Queer Okanagan poets growing amongst the fruit, and to those who love us, fiercely.

Proceed with Caution

              by Michelle Doege

A lesbian and a trans-woman

stand at a stoplight, waiting

for the white walking person

to show up on the post.

The lesbian woman, not obvious

to others. The trans-woman,

definitely, stands out. 

Once they cross, start strolling

down the sidewalk, a woman

with a thick East-European accent

hollers from across the street:

“Push ze button. Please.

Poosh ze button for me.” 

The trans-woman pivots, heads

back to the post. The lesbian

stomps on while looking back.

She can’t be late for work. This

is the new Vernon, she thinks –

standing solidly at the corner

of four crosswalks. The Vernon we

live in, now. Or has it always been?

Who has been hiding in the cracks

and crevices? Who has come out

boldly over all these years?

All those Pride events calling out

faeries and queers

from the forests and soft sloping hills.  

I, now draped in my trans-pride flag,

a cape covering my vibrating body

as we march home after our revived

Vernon Pride. I, hand in hand

 with my wife, proudly strutting

down our alleyway in our rough

around the edges neighborhood.

Towers of condo windows

like eyes looking down on us.

Should you remove your cape? 

Absolutely,                       not.

Flashbacks of anti-rainbow crosswalk

anti-SOGI –                      protestors

shouting with signs,      as if

we should not                 exist.

I gaze out my living room window,

watch my trans-sister strut down

our common alleyway. Her rainbow

hair shouting from the top of her head.

Her long bold legs sprouting from under

that short skirt. Such bravery. Such pride.

I smile, then grimace – as she walks

between two four-by-four trucks.