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Dufferin to have its first Poet Laureate ambassador

April 13, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Jasen Obermeyer

Dufferin County will have its first-ever Poet Laureate, the ambassador providing a face for the public, focusing on the County’s commitment to promoting arts in general and the rich literary community.

The program, first introduced by Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson, will give the fortunate person the ability to inspire other local writers/artists, and celebrating the County through their work.   

To qualify, a would-be ambassador must reside or work in the County, having a body of work, public performance experience, and be familiar with the Dufferin community.   

The poet’s duties include producing a minimum of four significant works per year pertaining to the articular characteristics of the Dufferin community and environment, attend and read their work at a minimum of four community events, participate in four poetry-related educational activities, either with students or in workshops with aspiring writers, and be a visible ambassador for the community.

The ambassador will be provided with an honorarium of  $1500 per term. The first term will go to the end of the current County Council’s term, in October 2018.

Submission deadline is April 21, with requirements including a resumé, performance experience and community involvement, five digital examples of work, and one example of each in hard copy, mailed or hand delivered to Dufferin County Museum & Archives. Interviews will take place at the museum from April 24 to the 28. Notice of acceptance will be in June.

Nanci Malek, the museum’s marketing and promotions co-coordinator, confirmed in an email to the Citizen that there will be cross promotion with Canada 150, and for the next term, they are looking to expand geographically.

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