Editor's Notes

Greetings Dear Readers,

This month’s issue features poems of solace, sleeplessness, play, and yearning. I hope you enjoy the issue.

In the wake of the devastating and terrifying results of the US election, many Americans have been turning to poetry for comfort, commiseration and sense. From Maggie Smith’s Good Bones to Langstan Hughes’ Tired to Wendell Berry’s the Peace of Wild Things, my social media feeds have been inundated with poetry. In trouble times, we need poetry to help us make sense of the world, to cope and to find ways to articulate how we’re feeling. Bywords.ca is a home for poetry and in these times, I hope you find what you need from reading and writing poetry.

The thirtieth anniversary of the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair takes place on November 16. Congratulations to rob mclennan of above/ground press for sustaining and maintaining the fair for all these years. The fair happens twice a year, in the spring and fall, and includes small presses and independent publishers, not just from Ottawa, but also from surrounding cities and sometimes from the States. It’s a wonderful opportunity to chat with publishers, zine makers and independent writers, and to pick up handsewn books, letterpressed broadsides, limited edition publications, art, comics, handmade paper…all kinds of small press and artisinal wonders. It is a time to come together as a community for friendship, joy and support. Bywords.ca has a table, as we have had for most of the fairs since our beginnings in 2003. Hope to see you there!

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Jesse Aubin
Dan Boland
Chris Johnson
Sarah Kabamba
Andrew Lafleche
Kemisha Newman
Jade Riordan
Marjorie Silverman
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko

If you have comments, suggestions, or unusual tea blends to offer, please e-mail me at amanda at amanda@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl
Managing Editor

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