Words on the Water / Murmures sur l’eau, eds./dir. David O’Meara and/et Véronique Sylvain,

Words on the Water / Murmures sur l’eau
eds./dir. David O’Meara and/et Véronique Sylvain
Poète officielle francophone et poète officiel anglophone de la Ville d’Ottawa
Poets Laureate, Francophone and Anglophone, The City of Ottawa
translations by/traductions de Myriam Legault-Beauregard
$10

including new poems in English (alongside French translation) and new poems in French (alongside English translation) by:

Jean Marc Dalpé
David Galvaude
Harold Hoefle
Christine McNair
Sarah Migneron
stephanie roberts
Alexis Rodrigue-Lafleur
Mahaila Smith


Introduction

J’ai la conviction que la poésie peut nous inciter à regarder les lieux qui nous entourent et à prendre conscience des liens (précieux) qui nous unissent. De l’enfance, à l’adolescence, jusqu’à l’âge adulte, la nature a toujours occupé une place importante dans ma vie (et dans ma poésie !). 

Des lacs et des rivières du Nord de l’Ontario, au fleuve Saint-Laurent, jusqu’à la rivière des Outaouais, ces éléments naturels nourrissent, depuis longtemps, mon paysage intérieur et mon écriture. 

Ces exemples de cours d’eau sont essentiels dans l’équilibre des écosystèmes. La poésie, je crois, peut contribuer à sensibiliser toutes et tous à la grande beauté, à la fragilité palpable de ces écosystèmes.

Après le succès, en 2025, de la première édition du projet que David O’Meara et moi avons coordonné avec Garde-rivière des Outaouais, nous avons eu l’idée de replonger dans l’aventure et d’inviter à nouveau huit poètes – quatre francophones et quatre anglophones – à créer un poème original inspiré du bassin versant de la rivière des Outaouais.

Ces voix poétiques retentiront comme un écho, d’une rive à une autre...

Introduction

I strongly believe that poetry can make us observe our surroundings and notice the invaluable relationships between us all. As a child, as a teenager, and still as an adult, I always reserved a special place for nature in my life (and in my poetry!)

From the lakes and rivers of Northern Ontario to the Saint-Lawrence River, with the Ottawa River in between, these natural features have—for a long time—nourished my inner landscape, and the way I write.

These waterways are essential to the balance of our ecosystems. Poetry, I think, can make us all aware of the great beauty, as well as the utmost fragility of these ecosystems.

Building on the success of the first edition of the project David O’Meara and I coordinated in 2025 with Ottawa Riverkeeper, we decided to dive anew in this adventure and to invite eight other poets—four francophones and four anglophones—to create an original poem inspired by the Ottawa River watershed.

These poetic voices will resonate, like echoes, from one shore to the other…

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
September 2026
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
produced for an event at the Ottawa River Boathouse, September 2, 6-8pm [see ticket information here]

Ce recueil est le troisième ouvrage collectif bilingue dirigé par David O’Meara et Véronique Sylvain à paraître chez above/ground press dans le cadre de leur mandat comme poètes officiels de la ville d’Ottawa. Il fait suite à Verse on the Banks / Poèmes sur le rivage (2025) et à Words and Image / Entre mots et images (2026), avec des traductions réalisées par Myriam Legault-Beauregard. À cette sélection s’ajoute également Planting Seeds : Fletcher Garden Poems (2026), en anglais seulement, qui a été dirigé par David O’Meara.

This is David O’Meara’s and Véronique Sylvain’s third bilingual edited title through above/ground press, all part of their tenure as Ottawa’s English-language and French-language Poet Laureates, following Verse on the Banks / Poèmes sur le rivage (2025) and Words and Image / Entre mots et images (2026), both of which included translations by Myriam Legault-Beauregard. Also available is David O’Meara’s Planting Seeds: Fletcher Garden Poems (2026), in English only.

Author biographies/Notices biographiques:

Jean Marc Dalpé est auteur dramatique, romancier, poète, scénariste, traducteur et comédien. Trois fois lauréat du Prix du Gouverneur général, il a traduit des œuvres contemporaines ainsi que Shakespeare, Brecht et des œuvres autochtones majeures. Codirecteur artistique du Wild West Show de Gabriel Dumont, il est l’auteur de nombreuses pièces marquantes. Docteur honoris causa de l’Université d’Ottawa, il est membre de l’Ordre du Canada et de l’Ordre des francophones d’Amérique.

A playwright, novelist, poet, scriptwriter, translator and actor, Jean Marc Dalpé is a three-times winner of the Governor General’s Literary Awards. He has translated contemporary works, as well as Shakespeare, Brecht and major Indigenous voices. He was one of the artistic directors of the Wild West Show de Gabriel Dumont, and has authored many remarkable plays. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa, and he is a member of the Order of Canada and of the Ordre des francophones d’Amérique.

David Galvaude a déjà habité en face de la rivière Kitchissippi. Il a publié deux recueils de poésie (Démonologie de jardin, La Note Verte, 2022, et Pigeon rouge, La Maison en feu, 2025). Il a aussi été publié dans Estuaire et a autopublié plusieurs zines. Depuis 2024, il co-organise la soirée poésie Une pinte ou un vers à la brasserie À la Dérive à Gatineau.

David Galvaude used to live right in front of the Kitchissippi River. He is the author of two poetry collections (Démonologie de jardin, La Note Verte, 2022, and Pigeon rouge, La Maison en feu, 2025). His poetry is also featured in the magazine Estuaire, and he is the creator of several zines. Since 2024, he co-organizes the monthly Une pinte ou un vers poetry readings in Gatineau, at the brewery À la Dérive.

Harold Hoefle's debut collection of poems, The Night Chorus, was published by McGill-Queen's University Press.  His chapbook, Leaning In, has just been published by above/ground press.  Harold lives in Ottawa.

Le premier recueil de poèmes d’Harold Hoefle, The Night Chorus, est paru aux presses universitaire McGill-Queen’s. Son court recueil Leaning In vient d’être publié chez above/ground press. Harold vit à Ottawa.

Christine McNair is the author of two books of poetry and a hybrid poetic memoir, Toxemia (2024). Her work has been shortlisted for the Archibald Lampman award, the City of Ottawa book award, the Robert Kroetsch award for innovative poetry, and the Relit award. Her book Charm (2017) won the Archibald Lampman award. She works as a book doctor in Ottawa.

Christine McNair est l’autrice de deux livres de poésie et de Toxemia, des mémoires poétiques hybrides. Ses livres ont été finalistes au prix Archibald-Lampman, au Prix du livre d’Ottawa, au prix Robert-Kroetsch pour la poésie innovante ainsi qu’au prix Relit. Son œuvre Charm (2017) a remporté le prix Archibald-Lampman. Son travail consiste à soigner des livres, à Ottawa.

Sarah Migneron est une autrice et traductrice d’Ottawa. Elle écrit pour les publics de tous âges. Ses textes de théâtre jeunesse comprennent Mots de jeux (VOX Théâtre, 2017), Dans tous les sens (VOX Théâtre, 2019 ; Prise de Parole, 2025), Jaune comme joie (VOX Théâtre, 2025) et Quand maman sourit (Le Théâtrophone, 2024; L’UniThéâtre, 2025). Pour les adultes, elle signe À tu et à moi (L’Atelier, 2013 ; Prise de parole, 2015) et Maman bleue (Prise de Parole, 2025).

Sarah Migneron is an author and translator from Ottawa who writes for people of all ages. Her plays for young audiences include Mots de jeux (VOX Théâtre, 2017), Dans tous les sens (VOX Théâtre, 2019 ; Prise de Parole, 2025), Jaune comme joie (VOX Théâtre, 2025) and Quand maman sourit (Le Théâtrophone, 2024; L’UniThéâtre, 2025). For older audiences, she wrote À tu et à moi (L’Atelier, 2013 ; Prise de parole, 2015) and Maman bleue (Prise de Parole, 2025).  

stephanie roberts is the prize-winning author of UNMET and rushes from the river disappointment. She has never been featured in Best Canadian Poetry.

stephanie roberts est une autrice primée à qui l’on doit les recueils UNMET et rushes from the river disappointment. Elle n’a jamais fait partie de l’anthologie Best Canadian Poetry.

Né à Montréal, Alexis Rodrigue-Lafleur a fait des études en muséologie et en français écrit, a habité en Bolivie, au Maroc et au Vietnam. Il réside actuellement en Outaouais et travaille au Musée des beaux-arts du Canada. Il a publié deux romans, L’odeur du gruau (2018) et Rêve-creux (2021), aux Éditions L’Interligne. Sa poésie émerge ici et là sous différents formats au gré des saisons.

Born in Montréal, Alexis Rodrigue-Lafleur has an academic background in French and Museum Studies. He has lived in Bolivia, Morrocco and Vietnam. He now lives in the Outaouais region and works for the National Gallery of Canada. He is the author of two novels: L’odeur du gruau (2018) and Rêve-creux (2021), published by the Éditions L’Interligne. His poetry emerges here and there, in different forms, throughout the seasons.

Mahaila Smith (they/them) is the author of the speculative novelette-in-verse, Seed Beetle, published by Stelliform Press in 2025. You can find more of their work on their website: mahailasmith.ca.

Mahaila Smith (iel/ellui) a écrit Seed Beetle, une novella en vers publiée chez Stelliform Press en 2025. Pour en savoir plus sur ses œuvres, visitez le site mahailasmith.ca.

David O’Meara is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently A Pretty Sight and Masses On Radar (Coach House Books, 2013, 2021). His novel, Chandelier, is published by Nightwood Editions (2024). He is the current Poet Laureate (Anglophone) of the City of Ottawa.

David O’Meara est l’auteur de cinq recueils de poésie, dont les plus récents sont A Pretty Sight et On Radar (Coach House Books, 2013 et 2021). Son roman, intitulé Chandelier, a été publié chez Nightwood Editions en 2024. Il est actuellement le poète officiel anglophone de la Ville d'Ottawa.

Véronique Sylvain habite à Ottawa, où elle travaille dans le milieu de l’édition. Ses poèmes ont paru dans plusieurs revues de création littéraire, ainsi que dans des collectifs. Son premier recueil, Premier quart (Prise de parole, 2019), lui a permis de remporter le Prix de poésie de Trillium, le Prix du livre d’Ottawa, en 2020, le prix Champlain et le Prix littéraire émergence AAOF 2021. Son plus récent recueil de poésie, En terrain miné, est paru en septembre 2024 chez Prise de parole. Elle occupera, jusqu’à l’automne 2027, le poste de poète officielle francophone de la Ville d’Ottawa

Véronique Sylvain lives in Ottawa, where she works in the publishing sector. Her poems appear in several literary journals and collectives. Thanks to her first collection, Premier quart (Prise de parole, 2019), she was rewarded with the Prix de poésie Trillium and the Prix du livre d'Ottawa, in 2020, as well as the prix Champlain and the Prix littéraire émergence AAOF, in 2021. Her most recent collection, En terrain miné, also published by Prise de parole, was launched in September 2024, She will be, until fall 2027, the Francophone Poet Laureate of the City of Ottawa.

Myriam Legault-Beauregard est traductrice, poète et slameuse. Elle termine actuellement son doctorat à l’Université d’Ottawa. Ses propres créations et certaines de ses traductions ont été publiées dans diverses revues, et son premier recueil de poésie, intitulé Comme un myosotis, est paru en septembre 2023. Sa première traduction de roman, De plâtre et de platine (version française de The Most Precious Substance on Earth de Shashi Bhat), a été finaliste au prix John-Glassco. Elle vit à Gatineau avec son conjoint et leurs deux filles.

Myriam Legault-Beauregard is a translator, a poet and a spoken-word artist. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Ottawa. Her own works and shorter translations have been published in various magazines and journals, and her first poetry collection, Comme un myosotis, was launched in September 2023. Her first book-length translation, De plâtre et de platine (French version of Shashi Bhat’s The Most Precious Substance on Earth), was a finalist to the John-Glassco prize. She lives in Gatineau with her partner and their two children.

To order, send cheques (add $2 for postage; in US, add $3; outside North America, add $7) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

new from above/ground press: Planting Seeds : Fletcher Garden Poems, ed. David O’Meara

Planting Seeds : Fletcher Garden Poems
edited by David O’Meara
$6

featuring new poems by:

Laurie Koensgen
Ellen Chang-Richardson 
Anita Lahey
Conyer Clayton 
Sneha Madhavan-Reese
David Stymeist
David O’Meara
Blaine Marchand

Introduction
David O’Meara,
Poet Laureate (anglophone) of the City of Ottawa (2024-2027)

Living in an urban area, it is often easy to forget the rich natural habitat that surrounds us. Thankfully, in the Ottawa region, there are numerous opportunities for “appreciation, preservation, and conservation of Canada’s natural heritage,” a listed objective of the Ottawa Field Naturalists’ Club. In late April, eight local poets took a ramble with Sandy Garland, a volunteer and educator at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden / Bill Holland Trail, and a passionate advocate for conservation, to appreciate and respond to the flora and fauna of this unique and valuable site within the city. The poets returned, walked, sat, imagined, researched, and wrote. The result is this chapbook, which shapes an informal guide to a leisurely walk on the provided paths. I encourage you to take it to the Bill Holland Trail, or any local trail, and read, look, and listen. Wear a hat and long pants. Bring a water bottle. And visit the Ottawa Field Naturalists’ Club website, a valuable resource, for more information on how to create wildlife-friendly habitat and gardens on urban and rural properties: https://ofnc.ca/programs/fletcher-wildlife-garden

Thank you first of all to Sandy Garland, volunteer-extraordinaire, who generously donated her time, energy, enthusiasm, and endless knowledge to the poets and audience during our tour of the trails and garden. Thanks to the support of rob mclennan for work on this chapbook, Allison Armstrong for media and publicity, Frances Boyle and Nik Ives-Allison. Thanks to Edward Farnworth and Stuart Tomlinson at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Thanks to Leigh Thorpe and Jane’s Walk. Many thanks to the City of Ottawa for support through the Ottawa Poet Laureate program, and to all the participating poets for their thoughtfulness and creativity.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
June 2026
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
produced for the event PLANTING SEEDS: NATURE POETRY ON THE TRAIL, June 27, 2026, Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa

author biographies:

Ellen Chang-Richardson is an award-winning poet, hybrid genre writer, judicial assistant, editor, community organizer, and author of Blood Belies (Wolsak & Wynn, 2024). 

Conyer Clayton is a queer writer, editor, and bookseller from Louisville, Kentucky living in Ottawa. Their third full-length collection of poetry, the lake-shaped excuse, is forthcoming in October 2026 with Buckrider Books, Wolsak and Wynn. 

Laurie Koensgen’s poetry has appeared internationally in more than 100 journals, anthologies and online magazines. Her fourth chapbook, this clingstone love, is with Pinhole Poetry Press. 

Anita Lahey loves wandering Ottawa’s pockets of urban wild. Her latest poetry collection is While Supplies Last. Her memoir, The Last Goldfish: A True Tale of Friendship, was an Ottawa Book Award finalist.

Sneha Madhavan-Reese is the author of two poetry collections, Observing the Moon and Elementary Particles. Originally from Michigan, she has lived in Ottawa since 2009.

Blaine Marchand has been active in the literary scene in Ottawa for over 50 years. A chapbook, Anthems for Dead Youth, will be published this November by Big Pond Rumours. He has published seven books and two chapbooks of poetry.

David O'Meara is the author of five collections of poetry and a novel, Chandelier. He is currently the English-language Poet Laureate for the City of Ottawa.

DS Stymeist’s most recent collection, Cluster Flux (Frontenac Press) was short-listed for the Archibald Lampman Poetry Award. Alongside living with chronic disease (Crohn’s), he currently teaches creative writing at Carleton University.

This is David O'Meara’s third edited title through above/ground press, all part of his tenure as Ottawa’s English-language Poet Laureate, following Verse on the Banks / Poèmes sur le rivage (2025) and Words and Image / Entre mots et images (2026), both of which were co-edited by Ottawa's French-language Poet Laureate, Véronique Sylvain, with translations by Myriam Legault-Beauregard.

To order, send cheques (add $2 for postage; in US, add $3; outside North America, add $7) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

new from above/ground press: Words and Image / Entre mots et images, eds./dir. David O’Meara and/et Véronique Sylvain

Words and Image / Entre mots et images
eds./dir. David O’Meara and/et Véronique Sylvain
translations by/traductions de Myriam Legault-Beauregard
$10

including new poems in English (alongside French translation) and new poems in French (alongside English translation) by:

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm 

Stephen Brockwell

Margaret Michèle Cook 

Catherine Couture

Sonia-Sophie Courdeau

Leslie Roach

Bardia Sinaee

Michel Thérien

Introduction

We love the intersection of art practices and what is generated through dialogue. One expression of thought, when translated, via another medium, can transform into a third truth. In this way, overlap develops a further aura of meaning. Ekphrastic poetry—the written response to visual art—is one version of this vital collaboration. We asked eight Ottawa poets to look again at the rich, extraordinary permanent collection on display at the Ottawa Art Gallery to create a conversation of thought and feeling that the experience of art-viewing engenders. We hope you will join and enjoy it.

Introduction

Nous adorons les croisements entre les pratiques artistiques et ce que génèrent les dialogues. Une pensée exprimée, traduite dans une nouvelle discipline, peut se transformer en une troisième vérité. Ainsi, les recoupements font naître un nouvel horizon de significations. La poésie ekphrastique – une réponse écrite à l’art visuel – est une version de cette collaboration essentielle. Nous avons demandé à huit poètes d’Ottawa de jeter un nouveau regard sur la riche et extraordinaire collection permanente de la Galerie d’art d’Ottawa afin de créer une conversation entre les idées et les émotions que fait naître l’observation d’œuvres d’art. Nous espérons que vous vous joindrez à nous pour l’apprécier.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
January 2026
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
produced for an event at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 5pm

Author biographies/Notices biographiques:

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, from the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Saugeen Ojibway Nation, is a poet, spoken-word artist, Indigenous arts activist, assistant professor, and the publisher, art director, senior editor, and founder of Kegedonce Press. She is the recipient of the 2025 Ivy Award.

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, de la Première Nation Chippewas of Nawash Unceded et de la Nation Saugeen Ojibway, est poète, artiste de la parole, militante en arts autochtones et professeure adjointe, en plus de cumuler les rôles d’éditrice, de directrice artistique et de réviseure principale aux éditions Kegedonce Press, dont elle est aussi la fondatrice. Elle est la lauréate de l’Ivy Award 2025.

Stephen Brockwell is the author of seven collections of poetry, including All of Us Reticent, Here, Together (winner of the Archibald Lampman Award) and most recently, Immune to the Sacred (2022).

Stephen Brockwell est l’auteur de sept recueils de poèmes, dont All of Us Reticent, Here, Together (lauréat du Archibald Lampman Award) et, plus récemment, Immune to the Sacred (2022).

Margaret Michèle Cook a publié neuf livres de poésie aux Éditions du Nordir, de l’Interligne et Malaïka. Elle a aussi occupé la fonction de Poète lauréate de la Ville d’Ottawa entre 2019 et 2021. Son recueil Chronos à sa table de travail a remporté le Prix du livre d’Ottawa en 2009.

Margaret Michèle Cook is the author of nine poetry books published by the Éditions du Nordir, L’Interligne et Malaïka. She was also appointed Ottawa Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2021. Her collection Chronos à sa table de travail won the Ottawa Book Award in 2009.

Catherine Couture, originaire de Lévis et désormais installée à Ottawa, est traductrice de profession. Elle tisse ses poèmes de sororité et de maternité, à défaut de manier le fil et l’aiguille. Avant Ève est le premier de ses poèmes à avoir été publié.

Catherine Couture, originally from Lévis and now living in Ottawa, is a professional translator. For lack of threads and needles, she weaves her poems with sorority and maternity. Before Eve is her first published poem.

Originaire du nord de l’Ontario, Sonia-Sophie Courdeau a signé trois recueils de poésie dont À tire d’ailes (Prix Trillium 2012). En 2019, après avoir terminé une maîtrise en création, elle fonde sa propre entreprise afin d’aider des femmes à se transformer par les mots. Maman depuis 2023, elle travaille actuellement sur un quatrième recueil de poésie inspiré de ses défis émotionnels sur le chemin de la maternité.

Originally from northern Ontario, Sonia-Sophie Courdeau is the author of three poetry collections, including À tire d’ailes (Prix Trillium 2012). In 2019, after completing her master’s degree in creation, she started her own company to help women transform thanks to words. Becoming a mother in 2023, she now works on a fourth collection inspired by the emotional challenges she faces in her journey through maternity.

Leslie Roach is a poet, writer and lawyer based in Ottawa; she was born and raised in Montreal. Her debut collection of poetry, Finish this Sentence, was published by Mawenzi House and listed by CBC as a “Canadian Poetry Collection to Watch” and as a “Book to Read for Emancipation Day”.

Leslie Roach est une poète et avocate établie à Ottawa; elle est née et a grandi à Montréal. Son premier recueil de poèmes, Finish this Sentence a été publié chez Mawenzi House et a été recommandé par la CBC parmi les recueils de poésie canadienne à surveiller et les livres à lire en vue du Jour de l’émancipation.

Bardia Sinaee is the author of the poetry collection Intruder (2021) and a new chapbook, Flinch. He lives in Ottawa.

Bardia Sinaee est l’auteur du recueil de poèmes Intruder (2021) et d’un nouveau recueil court (chapbook) intitulé Flinch. Il vit à Ottawa. 

Né à Ottawa, Michel Thérien consacre son temps à l’écriture et à la promotion de la poésie. Plusieurs de ses livres ont été traduits et ont reçu divers prix et reconnaissances. Il a publié onze recueils et co-dirigé un collectif de poésie. 

Born in Ottawa, Michel Thérien devotes his time to writing and promoting poetry. Several of his books have been translated and have won various awards and marks of recognition. He is the author of eleven collections and the co-director of a collective book of poems.

David O’Meara is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently A Pretty Sight and Masses On Radar (Coach House Books, 2013, 2021). His novel, Chandelier, is published by Nightwood Editions (2024). He is the current Poet Laureate (Anglophone) of the City of Ottawa.

David O’Meara est l’auteur de cinq recueils de poésie, dont les plus récents sont A Pretty Sight et On Radar (Coach House Books, 2013 et 2021). Son roman, intitulé Chandelier, a été publié chez Nightwood Editions en 2024. Il est actuellement le poète officiel anglophone de la Ville d'Ottawa.

Véronique Sylvain habite à Ottawa, où elle travaille dans le milieu de l’édition. Ses poèmes ont paru dans plusieurs revues de creation littéraire, ainsi que des collectifs. Son premier Trillium, le Prix du livre d’Ottawa, en 2020, le prix Champlain et le Prix littéraire émergence Incueil, Premier quart (Prise de parole, 2019), lui a permis de remporter le Prix de poésie AAOF 2021. Son plus récent recueil de poésie, En terrain miné, est paru en septembre 2024 chez Prise de parole. Elle occupera, jusqu’à l’automne 2026, le poste de poète officielle francophone de la Ville d’Ottawa.

Véronique Sylvain lives in Ottawa, where she works in the publishing sector. Her poems appear in several literary journals and collectives. Thanks to her first collection, Premier quart (Prise de parole, 2019), she was rewarded with the Prix de poésie Trillium and the Prix du livre d'Ottawa, in 2020, as well as the prix Champlain and the Prix littéraire émergence AAOF, in 2021. Her most recent collection, En terrain miné, also published by Prise de parole, was launched in September 2024, She will be, until fall 2026, the Francophone Poet Laureate of the City of Ottawa.

Myriam Legault-Beauregard is a teacher, a literary translator, a poet and a spoken-word artist. She is also currently completing her PhD at the University of Ottawa. Her own works and shorter translations have been published in various magazines and journals, and her first poetry collection, Comme un myosotis, was launched in September 2023. Her first book-length translation, De plâtre et de platine (French version of Shashi Bhat’s The Most Precious Substance on Earth), was a finalist to the John-Glassco prize in the fall of 2024. She lives in Gatineau, Québec, with her partner and their two children. 

Myriam Legault-Beauregard enseigne et traduit des œuvres littéraires, en plus d’écrire et de déclamer sa propre poésie. Elle termine actuellement un doctorat à l’Université d’Ottawa. Ses créations et traductions ont été publiées dans diverses revues, et son premier recueil de poésie, Comme un myosotis, est paru en septembre 2023. Sa première traduction de roman, De plâtre et de platine (version française de The Most Precious Substance on Earth de Shashi Bhat) a été finaliste au prix John-Glassco en 2024. Elle vit à Gatineau avec son conjoint et leurs deux filles.

This is O’Meara and Sylvain’s second edited collaboration through above/ground press, after Verse on the Banks / Poèmes sur le rivage (2025).

To order, send cheques (add $2 for postage; in US, add $3; outside North America, add $7) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

The Factory Reading Series presents: a VERSeFest fundraiser; lectures/talks by Earl, Hancock + O'Meara

The Factory Reading Series presents:

A VERSeFest Fundraiser : with lectures/talks on writing by

Amanda Earl (Ottawa)
Brecken Hancock (Ottawa)
+ David O'Meara (Ottawa)

as a fundraiser for Ottawa’s fourth annual VERSeFest Poetry Festival, March 2014

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
Thursday, November 21, 2013
8$ door cover
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
Raw Sugar Cafe, 692 Somerset St W  Ottawa, ON

Amanda Earl is a poet, publisher and pornographer. She's the editor of Bywords.ca & the fallen angel of AngelHousePress. In 2012/2013 her poetry has appeared locally in the Peter F. Yacht Club, & In/Words Magazine (as well as three chapbooks with above/ground press) & in literary magazines in Windsor, Calgary, Toronto, the UK, France, the USA and Australia. For more info, please visit amandaearl.com or connect with Amanda on Twitter @KikiFolle.

Brecken Hancock’s [pictured] poetry, essays, interviews, and reviews have appeared in Riddle Fence, Event, CV2, Grain, and Studies in Canadian Literature. She is Reviews Editor for Arc Poetry Magazine and Interviews Editor for Canadian Women in the Literary Arts. The Art of Plumbing, her most recent chapbook, is out with above/ground press and her first full-length manuscript of poems, Broom Broom, is forthcoming with Coach House Books. She lives and walks dogs in Ottawa.

David O'Meara lives in Ottawa, Ontario. He is the author of three collections of poetry, including most recently A Pretty Sight (Coach House Books, 2013), and a play, Disaster, nominated for four Rideau Awards. His poetry has been shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Award, the ReLit Award, the Trillium Book Award, a National Magazine Award, and he has won the Archibald Lampman Award twice. He is the director of the Plan 99 Reading Series, Artistic Director of VERSeFest (www.versefest.ca) and was the Canadian judge for the 2012 Griffin Poetry Prize.

Most of the talks in this series subsequently appear online in seventeen seconds: a journal of poetry and poetics, including previous talks by Monty Reid, Marcus McCann, Barry McKinnon, Cameron Anstee, Pearl Pirie, Gil McElroy and Nicole Markotić.

David W. McFadden wins the 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize!

Last night, Christine McNair and I were fortunate enough to witness Toronto poet David W. McFadden [photo by Christine McNair of rob mclennan, David W. McFadden and David O'Meara] win the 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize for his poetry collection, What's the Score? (Toronto ON: Mansfield Press, 2012). Congratulations to David, editor Stuart Ross, and publisher Denis de Klerck! 

above/ground press has been fortunate enough to publish three of his poetry chapbooks over the years -- The Death of Greg Curnoe (1995), Last Chance to Hit Balls (Six Tanka and Six Haiki) (as Genmai, 1996), and A Little Kindness (starring Jean and Jane (2002). He was also good enough to contribute "THREE DUBIOUS SONNETS" to the "Tuesday Poem" feature over at the dusie blog.

Cameron Anstee reads with David O'Meara and 2012 University of Ottawa writer-in-residence, André Alexis, Thursday, November 1st, 2012

From the University of Ottawa English Department website: 

The Department of English in conjunction with the Ottawa Art Gallery will be hosting a reading and reception featuring our 2012 writer-in-residence, André Alexis, as well as award-winning Ottawa poet David O’Meara and PhD student/small press publisher Cameron Anstee. Join us at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Arts Court, on Thursday November 1st at 7:30 pm.

Cameron Anstee has published two poetry chapbooks with above/ground press -- Frank St. (2010) and Regarding Renewal (2012) -- both of which are still available.