StOries Project: Strangers to Ourselves

The cohort of aspiring writers, all with a background in graduate studies (and several working subsequently with marginalized populations), participated in a variety of group activities and collective reflection strategies to create their own piece of creative writing. A group of 23 participants, either current or recent graduate students from across Canada, were selected as part of a competitive process, to participate in the StOries Project: Strangers to Ourselves. 

The StOries Project: Strangers to Ourselves used literary writing to examine the lived experience of Canadians to generate new insights into complex and multigenerational migration histories, and contested notions of diversity, race and identity in Canada today.

The StOries Project culminated with the completion of an anthology of stories and essays that became a repository of contemporary Canadian writing representative of the social phenomenon of migration and multiculturalism. Such a collection adds more insights and texture to the rich canon of immigrant writing that already exists in Canada.

Delivered in three phases, StOries combined teaching, training, and creative writing:

Phase I (Jul.- Oct. 2021): Weekly meetings were completed. The training period culminated with a special hybrid workshop session with internationally acclaimed Canadian writer M.G. Vassanji, held on Nov 27, 2021. 

Phase II (Dec. 2021) Final draft submissions.

Phase III (Jan. to Mar. 2022) Preparation of anthology.

The goal of the methodology was to create non-hierarchical, respectful, and safe spaces where difficult conversations among peers may be held. During the first phase, instructor-led and peer-initiated sessions explored a range of migration-related topics, centering on formations and perceptions of the self that emerge from race and ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexuality (and their intersections) in Canada today.

One-to-one mentorship also gives participants the opportunity to hone their craft and explore future directions for writing projects.  Writing prompts and breakout-group conversations help to generate discussions on the personal experiences of belonging, difference and inclusion, and how these themes may be presented in a creative or literary piece.

Presentations

Conference presentations to disseminate findings from this project have been made at the Annual IMISCOE conference (2024) and at other conferences too. 

Publications

Based on this project, a book chapter titled “Beyond Words: Interdisciplinary Explorations in Creative Writing and Wellbeing” is to be published in an edited collection of essays, by Routledge (currently in press,  expected to be published in June 2026).

The open access book Migration and Identity through Creative Writing (external link)  (Springer, 2023) was published in October 2023 as part of the IMISCOE Research Series.