Editor’s Notes

Greetings Dear Readers,

We end the year with an issue of poems with the feminist deconstruction of a fairy tale and a return to the womb. Thanks to the poets for their meaningful creations.

Thanks to all the poets and reviewers in our 2019 issues, to the selection committee, to all who bravely submitted their work, to participants in the John Newlove Poetry Award, our editors, award and honourable mention recipients, the Ottawa International Writers Festival staff and volunteers, Mike Kay and his sound crew, bar and food purveyors, our musician, Jack Pine, the audience members, our printer, Elephant Print, event organizers, hosts, features, open mic readers, grant appliers, book store employees, print journals and online magazines, workshop instructors, the Ottawa Public Library, the City of Ottawa and you, the readers and those who share our call for submission and pass along information about Ottawa's literary, spoken word, storytelling and nonfiction events. It takes caring and hard-working people to build and maintain a thriving arts and cultural community. Together we thrive. Thanks for helping Bywords to thrive in 2019.

At the end of the month, we'll put out the second edition of our accessibility guide to help organizers to prioritize accessibility when they're choosing venues. The second edition will include a few venues from Sandy Hill, a few more from Centretown and Kenzie McCurdy's piece about Stopgap Ottawa which builds ramps for local businesses so that barriers don't prevent entry.

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Jesse Aubin
Wes Babcock
Robert Martin Evans
Margo Lapierre
Kemisha Newman
Ashley Prince
Jade Riordan
Helen Robertson
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko

On behalf of Bywords.ca, I wish you all a joyous and restful holiday season and a new year full of promise and poetry.

If you have questions, comments, suggestions or a peaceful walk on a cold crisp moonlit evening to offer, please contact me at amanda@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl
Managing Editor

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