Season 3

Turning Inward

Season 3, Episode 11

How does poetry transport us to other places? We explore inwardness through Gwendolyn MacEwen’s poems “Dark Pines Under Water” and “Invocations” and talk about how poems are vessels for holding mysteries and untold stories. We share the impact MacEwen’s poetry has had on our creative journeys, outer/inner worlds, what’s creepy and/or triggering, and how what we’re called to share comes through a full body response. Tom Thompson, discomfort, calling the voice up—all this and more.

Season 3

Looping Back to Begin

Season 3, Episode 10

Celery trees, human-watchers—we start with Catherine’s poem “What Birds They Were” and explore other eerie things. Then we explore about how it is we find our way through poetry to link the real and the unreal. We chat about the impact art galleries have had on our creative process— where life and art intersect—and how what inspires us has its own time line to surface. This was the case for Jessica’s forthcoming book, Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold.

Season 3

How Birds Inspire Us and Fly Into Our Work

Season 3, Episode 9

We talk about the connection between birds and poetic process. Catherine shares her poem “The Lifting” along with its backstory. Jessica shares the Christi Belcourt poem “In Neither Hope Nor Despair, Birds Fly.” We talk about how poetry invites us into a pause and takes us to profound places. We finish with Catherine’s bird poem “What Birds They Were” from The Celery Forest. Through air and motion, we take flight!

Season 3

Dwelling in Possibility

Season 3, Episode 8

What holds the lessons we’ve learned over the years, what reaches out—a call to action or a pause—the path to possibility continues. We explore Emily Dickinson’s “I Dwell in Possibility” and Jessica shares her poem “When She Found Her Voice.” We chat about signs, connections, portals and encounters.

Season 3

Season Change and Worry Dolls

Season 3, Episode 6

“As if the top of my head were taken off,” writes Emily Dickinson when it comes to knowing poetry. In this episode we talk about how poetry is tied to the body. Jessica reads her poem “Season Change” and Catherine reads her poem “Worry Dolls.” We talk about perception, alignment of energies and how inanimate objects “speak” to us if we listen.

Season 3

Season 3 is Coming Soon

Welcome to 2022! There are some changes to The Hummingbird Podcast that we wanted to share. We have a new look, a new format, and a new co-host!

First, Aprille Janes has decided to shift her focus to other projects so she is leaving the show as co-host. She will be missed but she will always be part of our Hummingbird community.

We welcome Catherine Graham as the new co-host. She is an award-winning poet, novelist and creative writing instructor. We have been friends since we first met at a writing course about 20 years ago.

The new season launches the first week of February. We will meet each week to chat about creativity, arts, literature, and life. We want to dive into big questions about making a difference for ourselves and others through creative practice, projects, and passion. (And there will definitely be some poetry along the way!)

Thanks for being part of our journey!

Cheers,

Jessica

Season 2

S2 E14: Book Club: Learning By Heart “Celebration”

How will you celebrate 2021 and your year of creativity?

The topic of our final episode for Season 2 seems fitting – Celebration. We talk about what celebration means to us. What are the different aspects of celebration? How does it affect the way we view our creative work? How do we connect and celebrate?  Listen in as we unravel the next layer of the creative process: celebration.

Continue reading “S2 E14: Book Club: Learning By Heart “Celebration””
Season 2

S2 E13: Social Media for Creatives

With special guest Rachel Spence

Do you have questions about how to use social media effectively? For our monthly business episode we invited social media expert Rachel Spence in to share her knowledge and expertise. We had lots of questions and made lots of notes so fair warning, have paper and pen near by. Rachel will tell you how to be more effective and reach more people in an authentic, meaningful way. 

Continue reading “S2 E13: Social Media for Creatives”
Season 2

S2 E12: Book Club: Learning By Heart “Work Play”

With special guest Shannon Linton

We are coming to the end of our book study soon. Two more chapters. Today we continue our book study with ‘Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit’ By Corita Kent and Jan Steward. Last time we talked about versatility and possibility when choosing tools and techniques. In this episode we unravel the next layer of the creative process: the relationship between play and work, or as they note in this chapter, Plork. What is the relationship between work and play in the creative process?

Shannon Linton joins us. She is a singer-song writer, choral conductor, and music teacher. She is a Hummingbird listener too.

Continue reading “S2 E12: Book Club: Learning By Heart “Work Play””