The story of a cold case murder is the inspiration for Barrie’s poet laureate’s latest project in support of the Barrie Women and Children’s Shelter and honour victims of violence.
Victoria Butler said she drew inspiration from reading about a man arrested for the historic murder of Katherine Janeiro, 20, from Barrie. Janeiro was found dead on Oct. 10, 1994, and it was not until 2021 that a 58-year-old man was arrested and charged with her murder.
“I was looking at it and realized, oh my God, there’s this whole story about this woman that I had no idea about, and then I started digging a little bit deeper and it kind of felt uncomfortable,” Butler said.
“There is that part where it’s like we’re relieved to know that this person can rest now, but at the same time, it almost makes me uncomfortable to see the deaths of women used in media, like a sensationalized headline, you know, like that sort of thing has always kind of bothered me.”
Butler said it was Janerio’s story and that of other women and girls who had been murdered in the Barrie area that prompted her to start writing Hollow Tongue and take their stories beyond the headlines.
“I wanted to do something to honour all these women who we have lost and whose names have been buried under these sensationalized headlines. Also, pay homage to the grief that all of their families have experienced and the struggle of having to see your loved one in the news like that.”
Hollow Tongue is a collection of poems by Butler, accompanied by works from other local artists to go with each piece. She said the women featured are a mix of those whose deaths were reported on, and then some who were not.
Butler said all of the proceeds from the book will go towards supporting the Barrie Women and Children’s Shelter. She secured some public funding from the City of Barrie to cover the printing costs and compensate the other artists involved.
“I wanted to write poems about these women and talk about their lives and make people aware that these people lived and they had a very tragic end, but I still want to remember them and also bring awareness to the fact that violence against women is just something that women are just kind of born with, like the threat of violence just kind of lives constantly,” Butler said.
The book also features poems about women who experience violence and abuse and still have to live with it.
“This again, this is just something that we grow up with, it’s kind of like bred into our bodies, and it’s just like you have to be afraid of violence and sometimes around happens to you, and then you just have to live with that and get over it.”
Butler is holding a book launch at Bohemia cafe on 125 Dunlop Street from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14.
There will also be a chance for people to bid on the original art pieces featured in the book, with the proceeds from those also supporting the shelter.
Those wanting to purchase a book can do so at the launch or by reaching out to Butler directly on her website.
— With files from Global News’ Daina Goldfinger
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