The Current

Unlikely artists are given a voice with music in UBC project

Today we introduce you to a man who never dreamed what he wrote while living on the streets, or in jail, would be good enough to publish and share. Our documentary looks at Vancouver's Voice to Voice project.
Composer Lucas Oikle & poet Joe Henry. They are part of a unique project in Vancouver where amateur writers from the city's Downtown Eastside are paired with classical composers. (Pamela Post/CBC)
"I was in the joint and I was bored and decided to start a newspaper... they didn't like that too much." -Joe Henry


For years, Thursdays have held special measing for a small group of amateur writers in Vancouver. Once a week in the afternoon they gather to hone their craft.

Many have had no education... no formal training... no audience. That is... until they became part of a unique collaborative experiment with trained musicians from the University of British Columbia. A project designed to give - perhaps unlikely artists - a voice. 

Vancouver journalist Pamela Post's documentary is called "Interval."

​The Thursdays Writing Collective raised money to publish a book of poetry along with the musical scores by the composers. It is called the Voice to Voice Anthology. 


This documentary was produced by Pamela Post and Joan Webber.