Amber O’Reilly is an artist in residence at the Deep Bay Cabin for the 2019 Riding Mountain Artists Residency.
Amber, originally from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, is an emerging Francophone and multilingual poet, spoken word, and theatre artist, now based in Winnipeg. Her poetry focuses on family, romantic, and geographic relationships.
During her residency in Riding Mountain National Park, Amber will be working on her first French-language poetry collection; a linguistic, emotional, and natural exploration of Yellowknife and Winnipeg.
“My first French-language poetry manuscript is a collection of experiences from my childhood and teenage years in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Pedder Bay, BC, as well as travels in Central and South America, landing in Winnipeg. I have kept a box of diaries – a virtual hard drive of my memories from ages 10 through 19. I will go through it and draft new poems to add to the pieces I already have to develop the arc of the manuscript. In writing this poetry collection, I want to shed light on the differences between northern and southern Canada and offer a new way of representing prairie and northern Francophonies in Canadian literature.”
Artist Presentation
Join Amber on Thursday, July 4th, where she will read excerpts from her work in English and French, talk about her creative process, and invite the audience to share stories about places that have influenced their lives.
