Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

P.A. poet inducted into Women’s Hall of Fame

Mar 13, 2017 | 10:00 AM

A local writer and poet has become the most recent addition to the Prince Albert Women’s Hall of Fame.

Lynda Monahan received the prestigious honour at an afternoon tea hosted yesterday by the Prince Albert Council of Women. Monahan’s photo will join those of previous inductees on permanent display on the second floor of City Hall.

The induction was attended by several dignitaries. MLAs Nadine Wilson and Nicole Rancourt brought greetings from the provincial government and opposition, and Councillors Charlene Miller, Terra Lennox-Zepp and Evert Botha shared congratulations on behalf of the City of Prince Albert.

Chrissy Halliday, president of the Prince Albert Council of Women, said Monahan’s writing instruction helps give voices to those who may otherwise feel powerless.

“Lynda is such a deserving inductee,” Halliday said. “She very specifically tends to focus on groups that maybe don’t have access or the ability to reach people like her.”

Halliday said Monahan has held writing workshops with recent immigrants as well as groups struggling with mental health and adults with acquired brain injuries. Currently the writer-in-residence at the John M. Cuelenaere Public Library, Monahan has also spent time in residence at the Victoria Hospital helping seniors and palliative patients express themselves through creative writing and poetry.

“She’s empowering people by allowing them to tell their stories,” Halliday said. “She’s empowering people to believe in themselves.”

Monahan said she was surprised when Halliday brought a bouquet of flowers into the library to inform her she was selected for the hall of fame.

“I was so surprised, I thought they were for the person I was working with,” Monahan said. “I’m very excited and very honoured, certainly, to be part of the Council of Women Hall of Fame, especially with women I admire so much who have done so much in the community.”

Monahan said she finds her work immensely satisfying, and often learns as much as she teaches.

“I’m always looking for new opportunities to get out there and help people learn the value and the healing power of creative writing,” Monahan said.

 

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @PrinceAlbertNOW