Nominations Open For The City of Peterborough's Next Poet Laureate

The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) and The City of Peterborough launched the Peterborough Poet Laureate Program for 2024.  

PHOTO COURTESY OF EC3.

The Peterborough Poet Laureate is an honorary position established to recognize the excellence and outstanding achievements of professional poets living and working in Peterborough and Peterborough County.

The Peterborough Poet Laureate advocates for poetry and spoken word art, for the arts in general and the City of Peterborough and its residents. They compose works to be presented at Peterborough City Council meetings and other City of Peterborough civic events and occasions. Poets Laureate may also be available to speak at schools, libraries and other organizations. As of this year, the Peterborough Poet Laureate is a two-year position, and they will receive an honorarium of $4,000.00 across their term. 

The Peterborough Poet Laureate Program was launched as a pilot in 2021-22. Curve Lake spoken word artist Sarah Lewis was named Peterborough’s first-ever Poet Laureate. Following an extremely successful term that included four appearances at official City occasions and some 70 additional engagements, Peterborough’s City Council voted to make the Poet Laureate position permanent. Ziysah von Bieberstein is currently serving as Peterborough’s second Poet Laureate.  

The full Poet Laureate Program Guidelines and Nomination Form can be found online. Nominations are being accepted until April 18 and will be assessed by a panel including peers in the poetry and spoken word community, local citizens, and a City representative. 

The City of Peterborough provides the honorarium for the Poet Laureate Program, administered by the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) under the guidance of the City of Peterborough’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee (ACAC).

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Nominations Open For The 2023 Peterborough Poet Laureate

Nominations are now open for the 2023 Peterborough Poet Laureate Program, announces the Electric City Cultural Council (EC3).

Photo courtesy of EC3.

The Peterborough Poet Laureate is a position that has been established to recognize the achievements of professional poets, both in print/page and spoken word, in Peterborough and Peterborough County.

The poet laureate acts as a community advocate for poetry, spoken word and the arts in general, composing works to be presented at City Council meetings and other Peterborough events. The poet laureate receives an honourarium of $2,000.

The program was launched as a pilot in 2021. Curve Lake spoken word artist Sarah Lewis was named as Peterborough’s first-ever poet laureate. Following the success of the pilot, Peterborough’s City Council approved the Peterborough Poet Laureate as a permanent program.

"The arts are one of the key components to what makes a city vibrant and lively. Humans create art, music and poetry to protest, to disrupt and to express their love, passions and the things we care about in this life. Not to mention that the arts have played a vital role in all thriving cultures and societies across the globe,” said Lewis.

Nominations are being accepted until Dec. 16 and will be assessed by a panel of individuals in the poetry and spoken word community, a City representative and local citizens.

The Poet Laureate Program guidelines and nomination form can be found here.

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Peterborough Poetry Slam 2014 Finals At Market Hall This Friday

The Peterborough Poetry Collective is hosting the Peterborough Poetry Slam 2014 Finals this Friday (May 16th) at Market Hall. The city’s best spoken-word artists take to the microphone for two rounds of competition, determining the five person team who will represent Peterborough at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Victoria, B.C. in October. Slam poetry is a competitive verse where each poet has three minutes to recite their original work, before being scored by five judges randomly selected from the audience. Doors open at 7 pm for an 8 pm start at Market Hall. Contact Wes Ryan here for more details.

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