Editor’s Notes

Greetings Dear Readers,

This month's issue features an insightful review of Kevin Shaw's Smaller Hours (Icehouse Poetry, Gooselane Editions, 2017) by poet Annick MacAskill, a book to celebrate Pride, which is happening in some cities across Canada and online all over.

The six poems featured this month offer bird sounds, books, hook ups, public transportation, friendships, metaphysics, and origin stories. I hope you enjoy.

After June 15, we will begin considering poems for the August issue of Bywords.ca with a deadline of July 15. Poems published between September, 2017 and August, 2018 will be entered into the 2018 John Newlove Poetry Award. Our judge this year is poet and professor, Gregory Betts. If you are a current or former Ottawa student, resident or worker, I hope you will submit poems to Bywords.ca and share the call.

The recipient of the Newlove Award will receive money, a copy of John Newlove's A Long Continual Argument (Chaudiere Books, 2014), the chance to read twice at the Ottawa International Writers Festival and the chance to have a chapbook edited and published by Bywords.ca It's a great opportunity. The John Newlove Award was created to celebrate the work of a skilled poet, who lived in Ottawa for the last twenty years of his life. Please support the award by sending poems. For more information, click on "Newlove."

Bywords.ca editors have just finished offering their suggestions for the manuscript of Doris Fiszer, a local poet who won last year's award. The chapbook will be launched at the autumn 2018 edition of the Ottawa International Writers Festival when we will announce this year's recipient in late October. Keep your eyes peeled on the events calendar.

I'm happy to announce that former Bywords selector and author, Catina Noble has returned and new selector Ben Toner has recently joined the team. Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Wes Babcock
Robert Martin Evans
Jason Lamantia
Margo Lapierre
Fiona Mitchell
Kemisha Newman
Jade Riordan
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko
Rob Thomas

If you have questions, comments, suggestions or a tasty eggplant parmigiana to offer, please contact me at amanda@bywords.ca. See you at the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair on June 23. Bywords will have a table as usual. Drop by and say hi!

Amanda Earl

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