Editor’s Notes

Dear Readers,

Hope you all had a splendid and bountiful Thanksgiving. This month's issue is also splendid and bountiful, featuring the poetry of Anna Lee, Christine McNair and Stephen de Paul.

If you're in town, I hope you will join me at the upcoming fall edition of the Ottawa International Writers Festival and particularly at the sixth annual Bywords' John Newlove Poetry Award. This year we are launching "One Man Parade" by last year's winner, Rob Friday. We will hear the music of Call Me Katie, a local band with poet Monty Reid, Sarah Hill and Mike Rivoche and finally we will learn who won this year's award as chosen by Stephanie Bolster. We will also readings by the winner and honourable mentions. It all takes place on Wednesday, October 21 at 8:30 pm at St. Brigid's. See you there.

Speaking of the Writers Festival, I am pleased to let you know about a new initiative being developed in conjunction with the festival and Bywords. This fall we are embarking on a poetry contest for secondary school students. I want to remind students that poetry is alive and so are its poets, particularly in Ottawa. At some point, poets will be visiting secondary schools in the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and the students will be hearing about the contest. For more details click here. If you know of any secondary school students with poetic potential, please refer them to the contest. They can win an IPOD and will also be taking part in a reading at the Writers Festival next spring.

Also coming up next month is the Bywords' Fall Reading featuring Sylvia Adams, Jamie Bradley, Stephen Rowntree, and Margaret Malloch Zielinski on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 2:00pm as part of the Dusty Owl Reading Series. Come out and read during the open mic or take a crack at the object of desire.

I would like to thank this month's selection committee:

Vanessa Davies, Gwen Guth, Kemisha Newman, Carol A. Stephen, and JC Sulzenko.

If you have comments, questions or leftover turkey, please email me at amanda@bywords.ca

Amanda Earl