Way back in the mists of the late 1980's Ottawa-based songwriters such as Ian Tamblyn, Alex Sinclair, Cathy Miller, Bob Stark, Phil Jenkins and Lynn Miles began to share some of the twists and turns they found on their songwriting journeys. They began a series of regular meetings at Rasputin's Folk Cafe to help each other through dry songwriting spells, challenge each other with songwriting topics, and help each other find new and creative ways to explore and develop their songs and songwriting craft. Ian Tamblyn's exercises in lateral thinking were particularly instructive.

Other writers began to sit in on the meetings, and some interesting events evolved. The first was a series of evenings at Rasputin's which featured Ottawa singer-songwriters performing songs by other Ottawa singer-songwriters. The idea was to publicise the wealth of talent that the city has been home to over many years (Mac Beatty, Paul Anka, Bruce Cockburn, and Les Emerson were early songwriters whose work showed up that weekend), and to try to encourage the performers to start including each other's work in their own performing repertoires in order that each could help to broaden the awareness of everyone.

Another was a series of "sweatshops" wherein writers were given a topic and told to write and perform a song the same evening. The CBC was intrigued, and gave the group quite a bit of exposure, as did CKCU, CHUO, and The Ottawa Citizen.

Writers' Bloc: TNG

After a few years many of the original members drifted away and the Bloc was left to a new generation.

In 1993, Chris White, now artistic director of the Ottawa Folk Festival, had a notion to revive Writers' Bloc and bring together a new crop of songwriters to were developing their craft and careers. The group met at the original Bronson St. location of the Ottawa Folklore Centre, in a room generously made available at no cost by owners Arthur MacGregor and Terry Penner.

A pattern of monthly meetings emerged. Songwriting topics were volunteered by the group and the efforts of the previous month were played for each other. Constructive criticism continued to form the backbone of the Bloc's raison d'etre, often giving new energy and direction to struggling song. Monthly deadlines helped members complete half written material.

The Great Canadian Song-Along

In 1993, Karen Leslie Hall came up with an idea which got Writers' Bloc songs heard by a larger audience.  The Great Canadian Song-Along was begun by her in Toronto, then spread to Ottawa the following year, and by 1995 was as a multi-city "festival" where  writers from coast-to-coast could perform new material written around common themes. From a foundation in Ottawa and Toronto, the Song-Along grew to an annual international event that, at its peak, included over a dozen locations, ranging from Alaska to the UK. Led by Writers Bloc, the Great Canadian Song-Along continues as an annual spring tradition in Ottawa.

Writers' Bloc and the Great Canadian Song-Along have produced tangible results along the way. The original group produced a cassette of Christmas songs (Tonight Must be Christmas, 1988). In 1993, Writers' Bloc arranged to record some of their new songs at a live event at Rasputin's Folk Café. The event resulted in Writers' Bloc 1993, a cassette tape of tunes written by nine Writers' Bloc members including Lee Hayes, Beth Ferguson, and Chris White.

As careers evolved, many fabulous songs have been written from Writers Bloc and Song-Along  topics, including songs found on the CDs of artists including Christine Graves, Jennifer Noxon, Lee Hayes, Tony Turner, Pat Moore, David Keeble, Chris White, Zuzu, and others. Those we know about are listed here on the Blocheads page.

In addition, since 1999, highlights of Ottawa annual Great Canadian Song-Along concerts have been recorded and CDs distributed by Rasputins Folk Café.

Most recently, another tradition was revived when Missy Burgess organized "Chrysalis" - two evenings in which songwriters sang the songs of other Ottawa and area writers. Hopefully this will become a continuing tradition. And a Christmas CD is in the works as well.

References

A web search quickly reveals that there are many Writers' Blocs in the world. But ours has some longevity, and a number of people cite it in their own pages as formative or important to them. Here's a list of some of the references.

How Writers' Bloc Works

Writers Bloc continues to flourish. Monthly meetings take place the second Sunday of each month from September to June in a downstairs studio at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, 1111 Bank St. Meeting time is 2 p.m.

Typically, up to dozen songwriters meet, play and critique songs, share useful songwriting tips, dream up topics, and plan events. An e-mail list now includes over 70 songwriters and new members are always welcome. All that is required is a serious attitude to toward songwriting, respect for others, and a willingness to accept and provide advice in a mutually supportive atmosphere.

For more information, contact Tony Turner or David Keeble, the current Writers' Bloc coordinators.