Creative writing
The Converse School offers a creative writing course. With training based on sensitivity, up-and-coming journalists are trained through a series of workshops with the aim of producing creative writing projects.. The process and outcome are informed by their experiences and those of their communities, which have been excluded from the mainstream media.
MC Converse, RAP IS JOURNALISM.
In May and June 2023, La Converse launched the Converse School's first rap class: MC Converse. Through sensibility-based training, aspiring journalists were trained to reflect on and produce a project around project
Facilitated by Montreal-based artist and mentor Raccoon, the initiative brought together seven participants aged 18 to 22. Together, they wrote a song and produced a video. Inspired by the song BANLIEUSARDS by KERY JAMES, the creative writing project encourages participants to use their voices to communicate their experiences and denounce many neighbourhood realities.
"I aim to pass on a passion for words and writing to those younger and less experienced than myself. Through writing workshops - something I've been doing for years in various contexts - I teach everything I've learned and mastered since I first got into rap."
– RACCOON (Shamyr Daléus-Louis in conversation with Melissa Haouari from La Converse)
LYRICS CALLING FOR CHANGE
Bridging journalism and rap, the Montreal-based publication enables the Converse School trainees to engage in dialogue with their community while speaking out about the dynamics of their realities. The aim is to create a space for social change, where rap becomes journalism.
THE PIONEERS OF RAP JOURNALISM
Since 2020, La Converse has been working closely with overlooked communities to provide them with tools and assist them in reclaiming their power in a media space where they are excluded from the discussions that concern them. With a focus on journalism, podcast, and rap programs, the Converse School works with aspiring journalists to train them to serve and cover their communities. All the while giving them a platform to share stories that are about them.
JOURNALISM THROUGH LYRICISM - THE OUTCOME OF WORKSHOPS
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