Dr. Christianne Hayward founded the Lyceum of Literature and Art as part of her dream to contribute to the rich literary and arts community in Vancouver. She has been educating children and adults for over thirty years. Christianne established her unique parent and youth bookclubs in 1996, and now facilitates 17 bookclubs, 4 writers' workshops and literature and art classes for young children at the Lyceum. She also teaches at post-secondary institutions, works as a teacher consultant, facilitates parent groups in the ANCHOR Program at the Vancouver Child Study Centre, works at Vancouver Kidsbooks, and is mother of two sons.
Christianne is a local storyteller and popular reviewer of children’s literature. Her Ph.D studies in education (UBC, 2000) focused on using select children’s literature to develop socially relevant curriculum in early childhood settings through to high school. Christianne’s M.Ed studies (Bristol, 1982) centered around the use of literary theming in nursery schools and its effect on children’s attitudes toward reading. Christianne completed her B.Ed (U of A, 1978) in Special Education and received her Diploma in Early Childhood Education in the same year. Her first year of study at the U of A was dedicated to Fine Arts which fuelled a life-long love of the arts.
Laura Farina is a poet and arts
administrator, who is passionate about bringing literature and creative writing
opportunities to people of all ages.Before beginning her job as the administrative assistant at the Lyceum,
Laura worked as a program coordinator at The Banff Centre, where she handled
the day to day workings of the Centre's literary arts programs.
Laura's first book of poetry, This Woman
Alphabetical, was nominated for the ReLit Award and
won the Archibald Lampman Prize. She has been published in numerous journals
and magazines, most recently This Magazine.
Laura has also taught creative writing in schools and communities across
Canada, and was the editor of Under the Poet Tree, an anthology of writing by young people.She is thrilled to be joining the Lyceum community and looks
forward to the discussions and discoveries that this upcoming year will bring.
Susan Ma helped Christianne make the founding of the Lyceum a reality. Working with Christianne’s bookclubs since 2005, she has been able to further her innate love of helping others connect with literature and find their learning paths. She manages the challenging administrative tasks at the Lyceum with competence and a friendly smile. In addition to working fulltime, she is completing a bachelor’s degree at UBC with concentrations in Asian studies and languages.
She has worked at Vancouver Kidsbooks since 2002; as the resident expert on graphic novels and manga she has given lectures to educators, library students and youth on the import of this medium in today’s literary community. She reviews books for the Canadian Children’s Book News and the B.C. Teachers of English Language Arts (BCTELA) English Practice.
Cilla Holmes is passionate about writing, illustrating, and talking about children's books. Before coming to the Lyceum to help out as a documentarian for the early childhood and kindergarten programs, she lived and worked on the east coast of the United States as Program Coordinator for the international rare books fellowship program at Yale University. She aims to receive her MFA degree in creative writing from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine this year, and is currently taking classes at UBC in teaching art, social work, children's literature, and library science as a post-graduate student. She is also a certificate student in Fine Arts at Emily Carr University, and looks forward especially to her upcoming summer class in children's book illustration -- and perhaps metalwork?
May Chou first met Christianne
twelve years ago, when her son Christopher was in preschool. It was at
this time that May’s love of children’s literature was born, and she
has nurtured an appreciation of story with her children ever since.
May reconnected with Christianne when her daughter Emily began
volunteering at the Lyceum and participating in writers’ workshops.
Always one to keep busy, May volunteered to bring her accounting
background to the Lyceum. We are happy to welcome May Chou as our new
bookkeeper.
Program Assistants
Nicole Jang is a program assistant and communication designer at Christianne’s Lyceum. She first connected with Christianne through a volunteer opportunity at her high school which lead to helping at Christianne’s bookclubs for 5 years. Currently, she is completing her final year at Emily Carr University, working towards a Bachelor of Design degree with focus in Industrial Design. Nicole has a dangerous passion for paper engineering and spatial curiosity, in form and narrative, which integrates into her work at the Lyceum. When not creating layouts for flyers or cutting out garden gnomes for the window displays, Nicole enjoys frolicking with her dog in tattering winds and attempting to build rockets in bottles.
Sarah Hobbs first attended one of Christianne’s programs at
her local community center when she was very little. Unfortunately,
however, she lost contact, and had no idea of the Lyceum’s existence
until three years ago, when she learned, through her school councilor,
about a volunteer opportunity there. Since then, she has very much
enjoyed assisting the children, parents and staff at the Lyceum, and
never fails to be surprised by the children’s creativity. She is a
highly valued member of our teaching team and her own Lyceum writing
group, The Page Rippers. Sarah will be returning to Queens in the Fall, continuing with second year studies in English Literature. Besides
reading and writing, her other interests include piano, jazz dance, and
biking.
Jamil Hayward-Kabani has
been volunteering for his mother's educational programs since he was
very young, and his "behind the scenes" role has truly been integral to
his mother's success. Even as he enters his 3rd year in Biology at UBC,
Jamil's organizational skills and ability to strategically guide the
children he works with delineate him as a natural teacher. He has a
personality that shines whether he is working with adults, toddlers, or
youth; and his leadership qualities have made him a fan-favourite among
the volunteer core. Jamil is a great addition to the Lyceum team.
Jackie Amsden likes to read, write and work
with young people.Her current
favourite reading is the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, she has an MA in
Education from UBC, and is writing a memoir about the world of teenage
modeling. She lives in East Vancouver with her husband, lucky red fish, and yet
unnamed belly bulge.
Dr. Christianne Hayward 
Susan Ma
May Chou
Nicole Jang 
Jackie Amsden