ottawa small press book fair, spring 2009 edition; pre-fair reading!

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
doors 7pm, reading 7:30pm

The Carleton Tavern (upstairs), 223 Armstrong (at Parkdale)

Friday, June 19, 2009

with readings by:

Gillian Sze (Toronto)
Nick McArthur (Montreal)
Laurie Fuhr (Calgary)
Jon Paul Fiorentino (Montreal)
& Cameron Anstee (Ottawa)

author bios:

Gillian Sze was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her poetry has appeared in such venues as CV2, Prairie Fire, pax americana (U.S.), Crannóg (Ireland), Cha: An Asian Literary Journal (Hong Kong), and as a featured “Parliamentary Poem of The Week” selection. She is also the author of two chapbooks, This is the Colour I Love You Best (2007) and A Tender Invention (2008). She has an MA in Creative Writing from Concordia and resides in Toronto. Fish Bones, published this spring in the DC Books Punchy Poetry series, is her first full collection of poems.

Nick McArthur grew up in Newcastle, Ontario, and currently makes his home in Montreal. He is a graduate of Concordia University's creative writing program, and his work has appeared in Matrix, Pistol, and on xtranormal.com. Short Accounts of Tragic Occurrences is his first book.

Laurie Fuhr used to live in Ottawa, but now she lives in Calgary. She used to busk guitar in the Byward Market, but now she plays rockabilly bass in a band. She used to write poetry, but now she writes poetry. Laurie is Managing Editor of Filling Station Magazine.

Jon Paul Fiorentino is the author of five booksincluding the poetry collections Hello Serotonin and The Theory of the Loser Class, which was a finalist for the 2006 A.M. Klein Award and winner of the 2006 Expozine Alternative Press Award. He is also theauthor of the comedy book Asthmatica. His first novel, Stripmalling, is out now. He lives in Montreal where he teaches writing at Concordia University and is the Editor of Matrix.

Cameron Anstee is a student in Ottawa. He has a chapbook forthcoming from the Emergency Response Unit. He is presently learning to stitch books and will launch Apt. 9 Press this summer. cameron.anstee@gmail.com

And don't forget the ottawa small press book fair, happening the following day!

Kim Minkus, Christine Leclerc + Jen Currin in Ottawa!

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
doors 7pm, reading 7:30pm

The Carleton Tavern (upstairs), 223 Armstrong (at Parkdale)

Friday, May 8, 2009

readings by three Vancouver poets:

Kim Minkus
Christine Leclerc
& Jen Currin

author bios:

Kim Minkus is a Vancouver poet, and writing instructor. She is a PhD candidate in Simon Fraser University's English Department where her research interests are contemporary poetics, avant-garde book history, archival studies, and experiment and risk. She has had articles published on poets Susan Howe and Stephen Cain. LINEbooks published her first book of poetry 9 Freight in the fall of 2007 and her second book Thresh is forthcoming. She has had reviews and poetry published in FRONT Magazine, Interim, West Coast Line, The Poetic Front, LOCUSPOINT, ottawater, Memewar and Jacket. She currently teaches at Capilano University.

Christine Leclerc, originally from Montreal, now lives in Vancouver. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Her work has appeared in 42opus, Dig, FRONT, FU, Memewar, OCHO, Pistola, subTerrain, terry, the Worksound gallery, and is forthcoming in Interim. Leclerc is the author of Counterfeit, a book of poetry published by Capilano University Editions (CUE) in fall 2008. She teaches creative writing at Langara College Continuing Studies.

Jen Currin has published two books of poems, The Sleep of Four Cities and Hagiography. The Inquisition Yours is forthcoming in 2010. She lives in Vancouver, where she is currently pursuing a Masters in Literature at Simon Fraser University, and trying to grow vegetables in her front yard.

i recently posted

a bibliography of the above/ground press "poem" broadsides; a full bibliography of the first decade at the back of Groundswell;

currently working on various new publications over the next few months; also, watch out for the sixteenth anniversary reading/launch at the Ottawa Art Gallery in August! details tba...

above/ground press: ALBERTA SERIES now online!

Edited and produced by rob mclennan
in Edmonton, at the University of Alberta
designed by mdesnoyers

http://www.ottawater.com/albertaseries/albertaseries.html

One > rob mclennan
Two > George Bowering
Three > Christine Stewart
Four > Natalie Simpson
Five > Catherine Owen
Six > Jenna Butler
Seven > Douglas Barbour
Eight > derek beaulieu

These poetry chapbooks were originally produced in numbered runs of two hundred copies, once a month, from September 2007 to April 2008, to correspond with my time in Edmonton as writer-in-residence at the University of Alberta. All but two, myself and George Bowering, are Alberta authors, and George's came around the time he did a reading in Edmonton at the Olive Reading Series.

In the fifteen years I've been running above/ground press, producing chapbooks, magazines and 'poem' leaflets, I was amazed at what I could potentially accomplish, given that, thanks to the University and my new income, with actual resources. How could I not be producing material out of my English and Film Studies office?

rob mclennan
Ottawa, October 2008

ottawater #5 launch!

Ottawa’s annual pdf poetry journal
edited by rob mclennan
http://www.ottawater.com/

the fifth issue of ottawater will go live in January 2009, with new writing by Cameron Anstee, Michael Blouin, Stephen Brockwell, Monique Desnoyers, Amanda Earl, Jesse Ferguson, Warren Dean Fulton, Adrienne Ho, Sean Johnston, Ben Ladouceur, Lainna Lane, Marcus McCann, rob mclennan, Christine McNair, Colin Morton, Jennifer Mulligan, Wanda O'Connor, Pearl Pirie, K.I. Press, Roland Prevost, Monty Reid, Shane Rhodes, Suzannah Showler, Sandra Ridley, Mike Spry, Gillian Wallace, Zack Wells, Rob Winger and Rachel Zolf, as well as an interview with poet Nina Berkhout.

The Ottawa launch will be happening Thursday, January 29 at the Ottawa Art Gallery in the Arts Court Building as part of the Factory Reading Series, lovingly hosted by rob mclennan, with readings from various contributors; doors 7pm, reading 7:30pm

Angela Szczepaniak, Eva Moran & Jason Camlot at the Factory Reading Series

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
as part of the Factory Reading Series at the Ottawa Art Gallery
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6E2 Canada
doors 7pm, reading 7:30pm

readings & book launches by three authors:

Angela Szczepaniak
Eva Moran
& Jason Camlot

author bios:

Angela Szczepaniak
Unisex Love Poems (Punchy/DC Books)

A doctoral candidate at the University at Buffalo, Angela Szczepaniak is neck-deep in a dissertation on innovative poetry, detective fiction, andcomic books. In addition to publishing poetry and critical essays, she recently participated in a hygiene themed poetry-art project, and as a result her work can be found on placards in some of the finest public restrooms in Seattle. She is the author of Unisex Love Poems (Punchy/DCBooks). At the moment, she lives in Toronto.

Eva Moran,
Porny Stories (Punchy/DC Books)

Eva a SWF 5' 6" Montreal native living and working in Toronto. Eva is a non-smoker who rarely drinks. But make no mistake, she's a spunky, fun and energetic Leo. Eva has her MA in English Literature from Concordia, is an aspiring boxer, and she works out six days a week. Eva enjoys running, yoga, and long bike rides. She adores petting puppy golden retrievers. She is the author of Porny Stories (Punchy/DC Books). Love her!

Jason Camlot
The Debaucher (Insomniac Press)

Jason Camlot is the author of three collections of poetry, The Animal Library, Attention All Typewriters and most recently, The Debaucher. His critical works include Language Acts: Anglo-Québec Poetry, 1976 to the 21st Century, co-edited with Todd Swift, and Style and the Nineteenth-Century British Critic. He is poetry editor of the Punchy Writers Series (DC Books), and Chair of English at Concordia University.

http://www.ottawaartgallery.ca/factoryreadingseries/index-en.php

Jay MillAr & Pearl Pirie, February 13th at the Carleton Tavern

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
doors 7pm, reading 7:30pm
The Carleton Tavern (upstairs), 223 Armstrong (at Parkdale)
Friday, February 13, 2009

readings by:

Jay MillAr (Toronto)
& Pearl Pirie (Ottawa)

author bios:

Jay MillAr is a Toronto poet, editor, publisher, and virtual bookseller. He is the author of False Maps for Other Creatures (2005), Mycological Studies (2002), and The Ghosts of Jay MillAr (2000). His most recent collection is the small blue (Fall 2007). In 2006 he published Double Helix, a collaborative "novel" written with Stephen Cain. Millar is the shadowy figure behind BookThug, an independent publishing house dedicated to cutting edge work by well-known and emerging North American writers, as well as Apollinaire's Bookshoppe, a virtual bookstore that specializes in the books that no one wants to buy. A long-time fixture of the Toronto writing and publishing scene, Jay has participated in such diverse projects as the UNBC/Via Rail Poetry Train, The Scream in High Park, Test Readings Series and Influency: A Poetry Salon. He is also the co-editor(with Mark Truscott) of BafterC, a small magazine of contemporary writing. Currently Jay teaches creative writing at George Brown College.

Pearl Pirie's words are in blogs everywhere and on paper in gar, 1cent, Peter F Yacht Club and in chapbooks by pooka press, Amanda's Angelhouse Press and rob's above/ground.