Editor’s Notes

Greetings dear readers,

I am writing these notes on Valentine's Day, which I don't personally celebrate; however, it is a reminder of the importance of love. Since Charles and I founded Bywords.ca in 2003, it has been a labour of love and always will be. What I want is for Ottawa to get the attention it deserves as a place of poetry, as a thriving literary capital and an incubator of art, a place of mentorship and support.

I want those poets who are erased from literary canons to feel at home here; I want both emerging and established poets to consider Bywords.ca a welcoming home for their work, and I want to provide resources to support their writing: calls for submission, workshops, residencies and more. I want to provide a safe and enriching environment for our volunteers: I want our selection committee and advisory board members to know how much we appreciate what they do. I want to advocate for inclusive and accessible events and opportunities. I want those who love literary, spoken word, and prose never to miss out on an event because they didn't know about it. These are the reasons why we exist and why we continue.

This month's issue features poetry of past memories, both good and traumatic, leaving them behind or finding comfort in them, and poems of the now, time's fleeting nature and the issues of the era we are in. I hope you enjoy the poems.

Last month we welcomed new selection committee member, Dan Boland. This month we welcome another new selection committee member, Stephanie Mason. I am always grateful to those who wish to take on the role of reading and choosing our poems every month. It is a great deal of work, but I think it is rewarding.

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Jesse Aubin
Wes Babcock
Dan Boland
Robert Martin Evans
Kemisha Newman
Jade Riordan
Helen Robertson
Marjorie Silverman
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko

If you have questions, suggestions or a few extra hours of the day to offer, please e-mail me at amanda@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl
Managing Editor

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