Barrie’s poet laureate says role is underfunded and is pushing council for more

Barrie’s poet laureate is pushing for changes to the honorary role, saying the funding of the current position is outdated.

Since taking over in November 2022, Tyneisha Ternent has relied on grassroots efforts and fundraising to introduce live events that showcase local artists, while also running local workshops and helping educate students about the value of poetry and spoken word.

With a Tourism and Innovation Grant from before she became poet laureate, Ternent also founded Rap is Poetry, which performs throughout Simcoe County highlighting different types of poetry and expression performed by local artists.

But Ternent said to be able to do more with the role, community funding is need to host cultural events. Unlike other communities, Barrie’s current system does not provide any funding for events or local projects, and she said that the honorarium is not on par with other communities.

“I love doing spoken word concerts and shows so that people actually get to see poetry and hear it from the best, and I feel like the best way to educate the community on poetry is by showing them,” said Ternent.

“I’m more about (a community of poets) versus doing more written poetry. I do more spoken word, which involves shows, so venues have to be paid, artists have to be paid, and having a bigger part of art funding would allow this.”

A budget for special events, Ternent said, would allow for annual spoken word concerts and pay for artists to be a part of a show, as well as attract talent from other communities to come to Barrie.

She said while most poet laureates can get paid upwards of $5,000 a year in annual honorarium, Barrie’s only allows for a stipend of $1,000 per year

“It definitely needs to be more on par with what other communities are offering. Mississauga is $5,000, Collingwood at $3,500, plus a spending budget, and Collingwood is smaller than Barrie,” said Ternent.

“It is all passion-based and I honestly love every part of it, and I want to be able to do more, which is why I feel like I should be earning what every other poet laureate is earning.”

Ternent said she is pushing for an honourarium closer to other large communities and for at least $1000 to start a special event fund.

“Poet laureate is a prestigious title. It’s an honour, and I want to be the best poet laureate that I can be, and I just need a little bit more to work with to do an even better job,” she said.

Pushing for more funding is something Barrie’s previous Poet laureate also advocated for.

Speaking with Global News before her role ended in October 2022, Victoria Butler, the third person to hold the role, said she was hopeful the next person to take over would push for more funding.

“There’s a lot of opportunity to expand the program, encourage a bunch of different writers to pursue this as a field that they want to be involved in, and I think Barrie would be really wise to invest in the expansion of the program adding project budget, adding a greater stipend,” Butler said.

Ternent’s proposal has passed approval by the Barrie Arts Advisory Committee and is moving on to the Barrie City Council, which will be presented with her proposal during a council meeting in March.