Editor’s Notes

Greetings dear readers,

In this month's issue, we drink sumac lemonade, step into a pair of boxers, get confused in an elevator and declutter our bookshelves. As always our contributors present a variety of subjects and moods from the glory of living in the moment in the sunshine to dusty regrets. I hope you enjoy the issue.

May's online events hosted in Ottawa include Arc Poetry Magazine's launch of their new issue, Polymorphous Per Verse, Tree Reading Series monthly reading with a workshop by Manahil Bandukwala and featured readings by Inam Kang and Taylor Byas, Riverbed Reading Series has its latest iteration featuring Jennifer Hasegawa, Sneha Madhavan-Reese, t. liem. Both Tree and Riverbed have open mic spots but you have to sign up ahead of time. See the calendar of events for more info.

In Our Tongues Reading and Art Series is hosting a workshop to celebrate Asian Heritage month, featuring Edmonton's poet laureate Nisha Patel. The Toronto Writers Collective is now holding workshops in Ottawa as well via Zoom, in collaboration with Mood Disorders Ottawa. More info for both workshops is available in the News.

If you like what Bywords.ca does and want to support us, please send us your unpublished poems and share our call on social media. If you are hosting online events, and workshops from Ottawa, please send me the info and I'll post it. Current and former Ottawa authors and publishers based here are welcome to send me info about launches and new publications, which I will also post to the site in the News section. The pandemic may have caused us not to be able to meet in person, but Ottawa is still a thriving literary community and through Bywords.ca I am always striving to promote the news.

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Jesse Aubin
Wes Babcock
Ellen Chang-Richardson
Dan Boland
Margo Lapierre
Stephanie Mason
Jade Riordan
Helen Robertson
Marjorie Silverman
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko

If you have questions, comments, suggestions, conversation and creative poetry prompts to offer, please e-mail me at amanda@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl

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