Voices at Word Up hosts authors, poets and spoken-word artists. Hear the work of professionals and amateurs, and take the mic to share your own work.
Join In Person: To join this program at the Library, please drop-in.
Join Online: To join this program, please visit Word Up Barrie's website, where a Zoom link will be made available the day of.
December Guests:
Spoken word poetry is a performance art that transcends the written form. Come enjoy the slam dramatic monologues with the intense, emotional delivery of our featured poets Tyneisha Ternent (Ty the Poetess), Liana Cusmano and Dane Swan. The power of spoken word poetry is meant to be memorable, so this is a do-no-miss event.
Tyneisha Ternent, current Poet Laureate nominee and Tourism Spark Grant finalist is a local bestselling author who grew up in downtown Toronto. Known for her bestselling poetry book Bearing Fruit, Tyneisha uses her poetic abilities to perform spoken word poetry that is honest, emotional and uplifting. Tyneisha uses her words to uplift and inspire; and is currently working on a poetic arts tour that will take place throughout Simcoe County in 2023. Tyneisha is a unique artist that understands the power of words and uses them to heal herself and others through poetry.
Ty the Poetess (@tythepoetess) • Instagram photos and videos
Ty the Poetess | Facebook
Liana Cusmano (they/them/iel/lu), aka Luca and BiCurious George, is a writer, poet, spoken word artist and filmmaker. They are the 2018 and 2019 Montreal Slam Champion; runner up in the 2019 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship. A participant in the 2019 Spoken Word Residency Program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Liana has presented their work in English, French and Italian across North America, Europe and Asia. They wrote and directed the film Matters of Great Unimportance (2019), screened at the Blue Metropolis Festival, and also wrote the film script for La Femme Finale, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival (2015). Their first novel, “Catch and Release” was published by Guernica Editions.
Look for Liana on Instagam @l_cantoncusmano
Dane Swan is a Bermuda-born, Toronto-based spoken word artist, former slam poet, musician, author, and emerging editor. A former remedial English student, he is now an author of both fiction and poetry. Dane’s second poetry collection, A Mingus Lullaby, was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry in 2017.
Dane prefers lyrical page poetry, contemporary page poetry, dub poetry, and spoken word and focuses his work on social justice, music, history, and popular culture.
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Our Downtown Branch is centrally located in the Downtown core at the corner of Worsley and Owen Streets. The building and facilities are fully accessible. Enjoy a beverage or a small snack from our Café located inside the lobby, use our complimentary wifi, experiment with technology and maker tools, or soak up the sun on our Rooftop Reading Garden.
