Editor’s Notes

Happy National Poetry Month, dear readers. Here at Bywords.ca we're celebrating by publishing six poems. In this issue, the poets take us from the familiar to the strange, from Vankleek Hill to Ellesemere Island, from drinking games to shrouds, from whispers to lizard tongues. I hope you enjoy the poetry.

Locally there are many poetry readings taking place to help you celebrate: Mansfield Press comes to Raw Sugar on April 18 to launch its sleek new spring line of poetry titles; American multi-media artist and visual poet, Dan Waber will be at Gallery 101 on April 21 to offer a visual poetry slide show at the A B Series; Christine McNair will provide the second part of her workshop on chapbook making at the Tree Reading Series on April 24 before poets Chris Hutchinson and Darren Bifford take the Tree stage that same night. Mark Tredinnick, the winner of the Montreal International Poetry Prize comes all the way from Australia to read with BC poet Linda Rogers at Arts Court on April 27. To end the month, the Ottawa International Writers Festival features poets Anita Lahey, Chris Jennings and David Groulx as part of Plan 99 on April 28. Award-winning poet Sandra Ridley is giving a poetry workshop on April 28 at the Ottawa Public Library Carlingwood Branch. You can find out more about this workshop in the News section of the site. Also be sure to check the Bywords.ca events calendar for other literary events taking place this month.

Local publisher above/ground press is offering free copies of chapbooks by poets Lisa Robertson and George Elliott Clarke when you buy books at Mother Tongue Books or Collected Works, while copies last.

My own micropress, AngelHousePress is running NationalPoetryMonth.ca, which is publishing a month of boundary pushing work from poets in five countries.

Some poets are participating in NaPoWriMo or National Poetry Writing Month, an attempt to write 30 poems in 30 days.

What are you doing to celebrate?

In May, because Bywords.ca celebrates poetry every month on line & every quarter in print via the Bywords Quarterly Journal, I invite you to attend the spring launch featuring music by the fabulous John Gillies who plays guitar and piano, and poetry by contributors to the issue. The event takes place at the newly remodelled Collected Works Bookstore on Sunday, May 6 at 2pm. Hope you can join us!

Thanks to our selection committee:

Janie Beriault
Pamela Mosher
Carol A. Stephen

If you have comments, questions, suggestions or rye bread with caraway seeds to offer, please e-mail me at amanda@bywords.ca or come chat with me at one of the aforementioned events.

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Amanda Earl