Will Peterborough appoint a poet laureate?

Last summer, I edited a new book of poetry for a local writer. She was modest in her assessment of its commercial prospects and the extent to which any collection of poetry would find favour in a community that doesn’t seem to give it much notice. In the cultural script of modern Peterborough, written poetry remains a humble footnote.

The exception is the growth and popularity of spoken word poetry promoted by the Peterborough Poetry Collective, a group of local artists who are now in their tenth year of advancing what has become the most creative, energetic and cutting edge art form in the city. Spoken word involves the expression of human voice as instrument, typically a direct communication between artist and audience without benefit of any other intervening musical device. It combines vocal dexterity and wordplay with storytelling in dramatic performance, often voicing the cathartic and emotionally charged messages of the marginalized. Its roots derive from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s, the Beat Generation of the 1950’s, Jamaican dub poetry of the 1970s and, in my own case, from influential Americans Grandmaster Flash and Gil ScottHeron.

The growth of spoken word poetry should get a boost this October when Peterborough hosts the five-day Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. An annual event produced by Spoken Word Canada, the Festival began in Ottawa in 2004 as the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics. It has since become the fl agship event for national poetry slams, attracting up to 200 poets, spoken word artists and storytellers in a series of slams, classes and spoken word events. Peterborough spoken word teams have performed well at this festival, finishing fourth at last year’s finals in Winnipeg. In addition, individual spoken word artists have placed in the top 10 in each of the past three years.

In 2015, the Peterborough Poetry Collective successfully hosted Slamtario – the Ontario Spoken Word Festival. It also has an impressive record of service to local youth and marginalized communities. On the world stage, Calgary-born Ian Keteku was the first Canadian to win the World Slam Poetry championship in France in 2010.

Last week, the Collective appeared before the Peterborough Arts, Culture and Heritage Advisory Committee to further advance their art, requesting that the city appoint a poet laureate. That is, an honorary government position designed to raise awareness of literacy and poetry and advocate for its appreciation through educational and performance programs that might highlight for example, council’s inauguration, the civic awards evening or other ceremonial events.

Many other Ontario communities have already appointed poet laureates, including Toronto, Kingston, Cobourg, Mississauga, London, Windsor, Brantford, Sudbury, Barrie, Owen Sound and Ottawa – which chose two laureates this year following a long absence of appointments. Canada has its own Parliamentary Poet Laureate who was first appointed in 2002.

The city committee cautiously decided to have staff look at the idea of a poet laureate and to report in the fall. There are questions having to do with funding, the selection process and laureate duties that require some review. Of course, it would be timely to have a council decision that coincides with our hosting of the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in late October.

Should Peterborough city council appoint a poet laureate? Of course it should. Whether council can rise beyond the everyday to such a refined initiative is by no means a certainty, but it will be interesting to watch. Ultimately, the value of the arts is measured by the level of its active and practical public support. Places create poets and poets create places. Here’s hoping this place creates a poet laureate.