Editor’s Notes

Greetings Dear Readers,

I am pleased to inform you that the City of Ottawa has awarded Bywords.ca with an Arts Fund again this year. We are very grateful to the City.

Think of this month’s omnibus collection of poems as a celebration of the news. This month’s issue features poems that run the gamut from birth to old age, poems of grief, celebration and reflection, reverence and irreverence. I hope you enjoy the issue.

This is a quiet time for poetry readings, but there are still several workshops that are happening in Ottawa, such as Namitha Rathinappillai’s workshop on resiliency, survival and the immigration experience on July 18; Conyer Clayton’s Social Justice Poetry Workshop on July 20, and the Writers in Bloom Small Brave Things Summer Camp, a multi-day online event. All of the information for these and more are on Bywords.ca in the News / Workshops section of the site.

We are currently working on the final draft of Rachel Small’s chapbook manuscript. Rachel won the 2022 John Newlove Poetry Award, and part of the prize includes having a chapbook edited and published by Bywords. The chapbook will be launched at the Ottawa International Writers Festival this autumn, when we announce and celebrate this year’s Newlove Poetry Award recipient and honourable mentions. Stay tuned for more information soon!

Welcome to new selection committee member and 2016 John Newlove Poetry Award recipient, Andrew Laflèche!

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Jesse Aubin
Dan Boland
Chris Johnson
Sarah Kabamba
Andrew Lafleche
Margo Lapierre
Stephanie Mason
Kemisha Newman
Jade Riordan
Sonia Saikaley
Jagjeet Sharma
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko

If you have questions, suggestions, comments and a good conversation over coffee to share, please e-mail me at amanda@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl
Managing Editor

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