Editor’s Notes

Greetings Dear Readers,

The March issue comes to you on the cusp of spring, shortly after the change to Daylight Savings Time. I always find this time both hopeful and disorienting. This issue’s poems render both discomfort and comfort, trying to find clarity, whether it is in the violence and beauty of nature or in childhood memories. I hope you enjoy the issue.

If you write poetry and are a current or former Ottawa resident, student or worker, please consider submitting poems to Bywords.ca. We publish an issue every month on the site and we pay contributors. Take a look at the guidelines and send us your unpublished work.

Poets and poetry fans in the National Capital Region are fortunate to have the opportunity to attend VERSeFest, an upcoming festival of poetry, which will take place between March 18 and March 26. I will update the calendar with information about the program as soon as it becomes available so that you can buy a pass and attend a week-long poetry extravaganza featuring poets from all over the world.

Perfect Books is the bookseller for VERSeFest and for the Ottawa International Writers Festival, which will happen later in the spring. I urge Ottawa residents and visitors to drop by and visit the store, which is full of great books, including poetry.

If you’d like a chance to read your poetry in front of an audience, why not go to one of the open mics, such as 2-for-1, Art House Café and Urban Legends? Take a look at the calendar for more info on forthcoming open mics.

Perhaps you have a manuscript that you’d like help with editing. There are several Ottawa-based poets who also offer editing, including Conyer Clayton, rob mclennan, Pearl Pirie, and Deanna Young. Their sites are listed in the Links section of Bywords.ca.

You can also take workshops on poetry through the Ottawa Public Library and the Canadian Authors Association Ottawa Valley Chapter. When I hear of these, I post them in the News section of the site, under Workshops.

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

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

If you have comments, suggestions, or dreams of sitting on a sunny patio to share, please contact me at amanda@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl
Managing Editor

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