Editor’s Notes

Greetings Readers,

I hope you enjoy this month's issue which features three previously published poets, two of whom are current Ottawa residents and one who is now residing in BC.

For those of you living in Ottawa, I hope you had a chance to attend VERSeFest, the first in what will hopefully be an annual festival devoted entirely to poetry. It was an excellent opportunity to experience the variety of styles and voices in this city and to meet and renew acquaintances with fine people and talented poets.

The literary calendar is full of great possibilities, not only for poetry, but also for other activities from book signings to radio interviews with local writers. You can start your week with Monday Night Scribes with John Akpata, local spoken word icon, on CKCU FM, tackle mid-week with Mitchell Caplan's Click Here on CHUO FM, end the week with Literary Landscapes on Thursday night with hosts Christine McNair, Kathryn Hunt, Neil Wilson and David O'Meara, and look forward to the weekend with the Lie on CHUO FM and Special Blend with Susan Johnston on CKCU. There are also a great many recordings and readings posted as video on sites like www.versefest.ca and the Tree Reading Series site, and on Christine McNair's blog, Notes from a Carty Wheel. You can find all links on the Bywords.ca links and blogs pages.

If you haven't already sent a letter to the Mayor regarding the appointment of a poet laureate in Ottawa, please do so. Isn't it odd that Ottawa, a city with a such wide range of poetic voices and overflowing rooms full of local residents who want to hear these voices has no poet laureate to promote the role of arts and culture to our citizens and help to foster their development?

Thanks to this month's selection committee:

Janie Beriault
Jamie Bradley
Megan McGrath
Christine McNair
Kemisha Newman
Claudia Coutu Radmore
Sarah-Grace Ross
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko

And thanks to all of you for reading, writing, listening to and buying poetry. Next month is National Poetry Month. Let's begin the celebrations early.

If you have comments, suggestions, questions or waterproof rain boots to offer, please e-mail me at amanda@bywords.ca.

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Amanda Earl