“Bad poetry is a thing of delight / It’s not something you should try to get right.”
So begins Sara Porter’s poem about bad poetry.
You can discover the power of imperfect artform during Bad Poetry: Live in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough, presented by Public Energy Performing Arts in partnership with Sara Porter Productions.
Dubbed an “ode to the absurdity of the creative process,” Porter’s upbeat and low-tech performance about the fun of failing is taking place at The Theatre on King in downtown Peterborough for two performances on Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 31 at 4 p.m.
Porter’s performance will feature musical accompaniment by Peterborough native Benj Rowland, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for the folk duo Mayhemingways as well as his solo work.
A Toronto-based choreographer, writer, performer, and teacher, Porter has created playful performance at the intersection of text, memoir, and movement for more than 30 years. Her work is centred in a feminist, queer worldview, dealing with the body as a point of personal reflection for works that are completely interdisciplinary and examine the nature of performance.
The launching point for Bad Poetry came during the pandemic when Porter invited friends and colleagues to join the online The Bad Poetry Drinking Group, encouraging members to write and share bad poetry as a means of self-expression, release, and relief. It was inspired by Tristanne Connolly’s article titled “Falling in Love with Bad Poetry,” published in Issue 29 of The New Quarterly in 2013.
“The pandemic demanded creative thinking by creative people and, under the auspices of my new company, I resuscitated the group online as a way to pass the time and stay connected in a fun way to people across the country,” writes Porter on her website, which states the group is up to 140 members. “The past few years have seen gorgeous and gory offerings of poetry around the world.”
VIDEO: A taste of “Bad Poetry” by Sara Porter
A “testament to how bad poetry can lead to self-acceptance,” the lively performance Porter is bringing to Peterborough is part lecture-demonstration, part contemporary dance performance, part queer clowning performance, and 100 per cent full of Porter’s fun, wit, and playful style.
The work is scripted, though remains flexible to improvisation based on Porter’s surroundings, which suits the smaller and more intimate space at The Theatre on King.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Porter studied in England before starting her artistic career in Montreal and Edinburgh and then settling in Toronto. In 2014, after nearly a decade away from dance, Porter created — and proceeded to spend three years internationally touring — Sara does a Solo, a multi-disciplinary show about the complex interplay of her lives as a mother and artist.
As a Chalmers Fellowship recipient in 2019, Porter researched the intersection of literary memoir and movement. With over 25 works created since 1990, she has performed across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.
Through Sara Porter Productions, Porter develops performance, creative, and educational projects to highlight play and exploration that’s based in personal storytelling. She creates and teaches a range of courses, and mentors artists internationally across a range of disciplines, abilities, and ages.
She has also developed new courses and curriculum, holding full-time faculty positions in university and college programs in Canada and Scotland and her writing has been published internationally both online and in print.
Tickets for Bad Poetry: Live in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough are priced on a sliding scale from $20 to $50 and can be purchased at publicenergy.ca/performance/bad-poetry/.
For more information about Public Energy Performing Arts and its 2026-27 season, visit publicenergy.ca. Each performance runs for around 75 minutes.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a longtime media sponsor of Public Energy Performing Arts.
