Editor’s Notes

Happy 2007, readers.

This month's issue features poems by well known poet Barry Dempster, senior Rod Mallet, Irish born Oonagh Berry and Lesly Strutt who has studied with Patrick Lane. Once more we offer diverse stylistics and rhythms for your reading pleasure.

I hope to see those of you who live nearby at Bywords Warms the Night IV. This is our fourth annual reading to benefit the Cornerstone Women's Shelter. If you have spare bus tickets, warm socks, new underwear, coupons/vouchers from Tim Horton's or grocery stores, towels and face cloths, cups, dishes, cutlery & glasses, fitted single sheets & pillow cases to donate, please bring them along. Clothing can be donated directly to the sister organization, The Well, 154 Somerset Street West. You can find out more about the reading on the events calendar and in the news and links pages of the site.

There are so many upcoming events already on the calendar. Take a look and I'm sure you'll find many you'll want to attend.

In the About Bywords section, you'll notice the updated list of members on the selection committee. Last year was a wonderful year for Bywords. In Ottawa, our readings were well attended. Musicians John Kelly, Scott Edmonds, Andrea Simms-Karp and Mike Yates helped us celebrate. We were treated to the poetry of 31 readers at our Chapters readings. We published 59 poems on Bywords.ca and 67 in the Bywords Quarterly Journal. The work of four local photographers appeared on the cover of the BQJ. The BQJs were sold by various bookstores around town and in many stores we had sold out.

Our community outreach activities such as AIDSWALK and the Bywords Warms the Night III reading raised money and stuff for Bruce House and the Cornerstone Women's Shelter. Bywords was represented at four small press book fairs in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. I can't count the number of local literary events we promoted on the Bywords Calendar or calls for submissions or workshops or literary news items. And on top of that we also sold a number of chapbooks and collections through the Bywords online store. As usual it's been a hectic, exciting and inspiring year.

We owe a debt of gratitude to our sponsors for 2006: Storm, who graciously provides Internet services, Vantage Point International Inc, who helped us over the first quarter by providing an infusion of cash, Chapters who hosted our readings for free, the bookstores that sold BQJs, the City of Ottawa for funding our major activities, the literary community, the audience who attended our events, our subscribers and purchasers of the BQJ and lastly our volunteers.

Special thanks to the selection committee this month:

Kelly Clarke, Marcus McCann, Sarah Ruffolo, Melissa Upfold, and Victoria Vernell

If you have questions, comments, hot chocolate or doses of cold medication to give me, please e-mail editor@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl