Dirty limericks probably won’t cut it
Fredericton seeks next poet laureate, as Jordan Tretheway’s term wraps at end of summer
If you don’t know what iambic pentameter or rhyming couplets are, you may want to bone up on them, because the City of Fredericton has a $5,000 position opening up for those with poetry in their hearts.
The City of Fredericton announced Thursday its current poet laureate, Jordan Tretheway, will see his term come to an end later this year, and it’s beginning its search for the next writer to fill the role.
City hall is looking for submissions from Fredericton-based writers who already have an established body of poetry and who have been recognized for their writing in the literary community, the municipality’s news release said.
“The poet laureate serves as an advocate for literature, poetry and the spoken word in New Brunswick’s capital city,” it said.
The position requires the chosen writer to pen new, original works and to present them to the public, and the two-year position pays $5,000 annually.
Among the requirements and duties of the poet laureate are writing at least six original pieces per year for city events and council meetings, to represent the municipality at events and engaging with the public in the poet laureate role, and to develop some sort of lasting sample of art - such as a publication or community art project.
The poet laureate position has given rise to some controversy in the past. Jenna Lyn Albert, the second writer to serve in the role and a Black woman, sought to read a poem that arose out of the Black Lives Matter movement and referred to defunding the police, but then-mayor Mike O’Brien nixed the idea. He later apologized.
Some city councillors later expressed criticisms after Albert read a poem at a council meeting that dealt with the issue of abortion.
Applications to be the fourth Fredericton poet laureate should be emailed to culture@fredericton.ca by June 5.
The Fredericton Independent can be reached at ftonindependent@gmail.com.