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Bringing People Together: Barrie’s New Poet Laureate to Host Event Celebrating Arts and Diversity

Tyneisha Ternent, author of Bearing Fruit is Barrie’s new poet laureate. Ternent, a self-taught poet, has been writing since an early age and found poetry to be therapeutic and a way to express her emotions. 

“Writing has always been very therapeutic for me. And something that kind of comes naturally to me. Once I found poetry, it was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I knew that this is what I was meant to do,” she told Deepak, reporter for Barrie Community Media.

She created a poetry book while pregnant with her daughter Aurora, which honours her and other women’s experiences with unplanned pregnancies, and highlights the strength of women. Her husband, Ryan, also contributed illustrations. 

Ternent said she has evolved as a person and poet over the years. “As I’ve grown, so has my writing style, but I always like to keep it personal, raw. I like to be vulnerable, I like to speak my own truth, whatever that may be,” she said. “It’s definitely let me listen to myself more and have more confidence in myself.”

She is hosting Rap is Poetry on January 14th at The Five Points Theatre in Barrie. It will feature rap, poetry, dance, and visual arts, and which will tour Simcoe County to support local artists and businesses.

“We have four different poets, four different rappers, two different dancers, and a visual artist. It’s really going to show how diverse the art scene is here in Berrie,” she said. “Everybody has their own style, and I wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to shine.”

She is looking to make a difference in the local arts scene. He is looking to bring more urban arts experiences to Barrie and its surrounding areas. “What I’m hoping is that people don’t have to go all the way to Toronto to experience these sorts of things, people can come around here in Barrie and experience this urban arts experience right here in Simcoe County instead,” she said. 

In order to make this dream a reality, Ternent is looking for sponsorship and venues that are willing to let her put on shows. She also hopes to give more paid opportunities to local artists. “This isn’t about me, it’s about everybody coming together,” she said. “And I really want to give a platform and as the people’s poet, I feel like I owe it to everybody. So I’m just really grateful that I can actually give people a platform to shine on.” 

Links – Rap is Poetry tickets – https://tprocob.ticketpro.ca/en/pages/COB_RIPRapisPoetry Bearing Fruit – https://www.amazon.ca/Bearing-Fruit-Tyneisha-Ternent-ebook/dp/B08P2HFF5Y/

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