Award-winning poet and educator Denice Frohman will be on Island for an intensive creative retreat this weekend.Ms Frohman is known for exploring issues of race, gender, sexuality and the ‘in-between-ness’ that can exist within people. She placed in the top 15 at the 2012 Women of the World Poetry Slam, was a top ten finalist at the 2012 Southern Fried Poetry Slam and was also a member of the 2010 Philadelphia Slam Team.She is set to perform some of her poetry, alongside local poets Laurel Monkman and Matthew Johnstone, at Chewstick’s Neo Griot Lounge at 8pm tonight and will lead a workshop on Sunday afternoon.Ms Frohman will also speak at a creative retreat on Port’s Island, that runs from tomorrow through Sunday.Event organiser Deidra-Lee Bean said: “Her focus is on identity, social awareness, storytelling and uncovering the parts of our unique experiences that we sometimes keep hidden in an effort to conform to social norms.“This series of events will be an extension of her work on challenging social norms through presentations at a broad spectrum of organisations, including high schools, universities, multicultural associations and more.“She encourages people to look within for their unique stories and abilities to create art that enhances the communities in which they live.”For more information call 292-2439 or e-mail info@chewstick.org.Useful websites: www.chewstick.org; www.denicefrohman.com