some author activity: Aigen, Flemmer, Nilson, Anstee + Tracy,

Razielle Aigen has a poem in the Poetry Pause series via The League of Canadian Poets; Kyle Flemmer has a new poem up at Train : a poetry journal; Geoffrey Nilson has a new poem up at Watch Your Head; Cameron Anstee has a new essay celebrating Stuart Ross' Proper Tales Press; and Dale Tracy has a poem in the Tuesday poem series over at the dusie blog.

new from above/ground press: Autobiographical Ecology, by Isabel Sobral Campos

Autobiographical Ecology
Isabel Sobral Campos
$5

I set out to write a love letter and an account of a love affair: things done. things repaired. things enamored. the love affair, it turns out, could not be recounted. not because words failed to pervade in meaning. no. because the love affair was depleted of gravity. gravity gone, not even the ghost remained. thankfully there was Microsoft Word. the common feature of displacing text as if words unable to remain on the world’s surface (the page) were prevented from evaporating by the technical convenience of a processing operation. I didn’t attempt to make meaning out of this. meaning is the impossible here. the impossible is the love affair here. Microsoft Word understands about love. I find. Microsoft Word helps all lovers and recorders of love to blow back down words fleeing through space. blow. them. back. down. how you wonder? can something be blown back down? think of the hand touching the mouse dragging this word here and that one there. a phoneme and a morpheme too. not seeing the word(s). not attempting to make an arrangement pleasurable to the senses. not attempting to tap into the precision of events or experience. not following a visual shape that resembles a nice-looking organization of lines and spaces. just dragging up and down so short-circuiting gravity. some may call it revenge on atmospheric conditions. or a critique of attraction poles. I rather think it a sigh bubbling up from the intestines. one day I will write a love poem. with a curling frame of arabesques so hefty and unwieldy so capable of seducing gravity. I will forget about Microsoft’s wisdom then.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
November 2019
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Isabel Sobral Campos is the author of Your Person Doesn’t Belong to You (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press, 2018), and the chapbooks Material (No, Dear/Small Anchor Press, 2015) and You Will Be Made of Stone (dancing girl press, 2018). Her poetry has appeared in Bone Bouquet, Boston Review, Brooklyn Rail, BAX 2018: Best American Experimental Writing, and elsewhere. She is the co-founder of the Sputnik & Fizzle publishing series.

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

some author activity: Hogg, Earl, Barwin, Clayton + Cortese,

Robert Hogg has some new poems up at Empty Mirror; Amanda Earl has a new essay in the "Talking Poetics" series at the ottawa poetry newsletter; Gary Barwin writes on the "&" for Macleans magazine; Conyer Clayton has two poems up at The /tƐmz/ Review here and here; and Franco Cortese has new work up in the Tuesday poem series over at the dusie blog.

new from above/ground press: Lion’s Den, a chiasmus, by Jessica Smith

Lion’s Den, a chiasmus
Jessica Smith
$5

 

over a hundred lamps         were found                            in the dark

                                                limestone plates   filled will fuel

                                       

                                                a more intricate    carved sandstone

                                                                                                like a spoon for fire

                                                hearths and resinous torches

                                                smell of pine and lemon

little we see in nature that is ours

                                                lit within lit from within

                                                goodnight light

                                                tell myself my story

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
November 2019
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Jessica Smith is the author of numerous chapbooks including Trauma Mouth (Dusie 2015) and The Lover is Absent (above/ground press, 2017) and three full-length books of poetry, Organic Furniture Cellar (Outside Voices 2006), Life-List (Chax Press 2015), and How to Know the Flowers (Veliz Books 2019). She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and teaches at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

This is Smith's fourth chapbook with above/ground press, after Shifting Landscapes (2006), MNEMOTECHNICS (2013) and The Lover is Absent (2017).

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

announcing: THE NELSON BALL PRIZE

At the most recent Meet the Presses Indie Literary Market, I was handed this flyer by Stuart Ross:

We are pleased to announce the creation of the Nelson Ball Prize, an annual award honouring the legacy of Canadian poet, publisher, and bookseller Nelson Ball (1942-2019) [see my obituary for him here]. Nelson was renowned for his poetry of observation and his quiet, steady support of Canadian writers as a bookseller and a publisher of literary magazines, chapbooks, and ephemera.

The Prize runs in three-year cycles. In years one and two, it is awarded for a published work (any size)—by a Canadian poet and published by a Canadian publisher in the previous two calendar years—that features “poetry of observation,” as chosen by two volunteer judges. In year three, the Prize recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant, under-the-mainstream-radar contribution to Canadian literature, as selected by two volunteer judges.

The inaugural Prize, $1,000 and a certificate, will be awarded in 2020 to the Canadian author of a publication issued in 2018 or 2019. Canadian publishers are encouraged to submit three copies of their nominated publication(s) by March 30, 2020, to The Nelson Ball Prize, c/o 3-300 Division Street, Cobourg, ON, K9A 3R3. Please include a statement confirming that the author is Canadian. The winning publication will be announced in fall 2020.

We are actively seeking patrons to help fund The Nelson Ball Prize. If you are able to make a onetime or annual contribution in Nelson Ball’s memory, please contact James McDonald and Stuart Ross at nelsonballprize@gmail.com

There is also an upcoming gathering for the late great poet in Toronto, on December 1, 2019. See here for details.

new from above/ground press: Aftermath or Scenes of a Woman Convalescing, by Amanda Earl

Aftermath or Scenes of a Woman Convalescing
Amanda Earl
$5

I want another music score another second red I have
been throwing up
shapelessness worries me
the mailbox was on the wall
I picked myself up to compliment the
antibiotics I made it to back to the wall
and one step down I am not too wary in
this apartment I am a doll trying to
balance while holding an umbrella
at one with the angels before the nurse
arrives I call him St. Watch
Surprised he dons his hope gloves
and wings writes in his book about my
fever every day I am pale as Gerberas
I can’t keep anything
my favourite system he says
I’m a wild bouquet, a feather on the river, rubbery
legs will return because I barely survived he sings

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
November 2019
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Amanda Earl writes in Ottawa, and occasionally other places. She’s the managing editor of Bywords.ca and the fallen angel of AngelHousePress. Kiki (Chaudiere Books) is now available from Invisible Publishing. For more information, please visit AmandaEarl.com or connect with Amanda on Twitter @KikiFolle.

This is Earl’s seventh chapbook with above/ground press, after Eleanor (2007), The Sad Phoenician’s Other Woman (2008), Sex First & Then A Sandwich (2012), A Book of Saints (2015), Lady Lazarus Redux (2017) and The Book of Mark (2018).

[Amanda Earl launches this title in Ottawa as part of the pre-ottawa small press book fair event on Friday, November 22, 2019]

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

some author activity: Ross, Eleftherion, Aigen, Campanello,

Stuart Ross posted a nice piece over at his blog (including his acceptance speech) on winning this year's Harbourfront Prize; Melissa Eleftherion has new work and a statement up as part of the Spotlight series; forthcoming author Razielle Aigen has some new work up at Train : a poetry journal; and Kimberly Campanello and Léonce Lupette have a collaboration in the Tuesday poem series over at the dusie blog.

new from above/ground press: TALKING GIBBERISH TO STRANGERS, by Ben Robinson

TALKING GIBBERISH TO STRANGERS
Ben Robinson
$5

Talking Gibberish to Strangers

oh some poor legacy to stone this becomes

species already overcome, this is the finish

terrain of settlers

Jim, find horror and show your husband

throwing my show down and saying

special and then younger and you will find

it easy when an English

priest or Nicola of the U.S. are away from

    country of origin

getting used to you

what was I supposed to feel

be an English online greyjoy

we just knew

the disadvantage is important

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
November 2019
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Ben Robinson is a poet, musician and librarian. He recently published two chapbooks – Mumbles in Hollywood, California (Simulacrum Press) and The Sims in Real Life (The Blasted Tree) – and has more work forthcoming with The Alfred Gustav Press. He has only ever lived in Hamilton, Ontario on the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas. He is @bengymen on Twitter.

A second chapbook is forthcoming.

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

The Factory Reading Series pre-small press book fair reading, November 22: Birrell, Blouin, Colistro + Earl,

span-o (the small press action network - ottawa) presents:

The Factory Reading Series
pre-small press book fair reading
celebrating 25 years of the ottawa small press book fair
featuring readings by:

Heather Birrell (Toronto)
Michael Blouin (Kemptville)
Vincent Colistro (Toronto)
+ Amanda Earl (Ottawa)

lovingly hosted as part of a rare public appearance by poet, provocateur and accidental recluse, rob mclennan
Friday, November 22, 2019;
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
The Carleton Tavern,
223 Armstrong Street (at Parkdale; upstairs)

[And don’t forget the ottawa small press book fair, held the following day at the Jack Purcell Community Centre]

Heather Birrell [pictured] is the author of two story collections, both published by Coach House Books: Mad Hope (a Globe and Mail top fiction pick for 2012 and a “CanLit cult classic,” according to 49th Shelf) and I know you are but what am I? Heather’s work has been honoured with the Journey Prize for short fiction and the Edna Staebler Award for creative non-fiction and shortlisted for the KM Hunter Award, the Arc Magazine poem of the year award, National and Western Magazine Awards (Canada), and received a notable mention in Best American Essays 2017. Heather works as a high school English teacher and a creative writing instructor in Toronto, where she lives with her family. Float and Scurry (A Feed Dog Book from Anvil Press) is her first poetry collection. Learn more about Heather and her work at www.heatherbirrell.com

Michael Blouin has won ReLit Best Novel in Canada, been shortlisted for the Amazon First Novel Award, the bp Nichol Award, the CBC Literary Award, and is a winner of the Diana Brebner Award and the  Lampman Award. He has collaborated on recent projects with poet Gillian Sze, film director Bruce McDonald, poet and artist bill bissett and visual artist and author Elizabeth Rainer. He has been published in most Canadian literary magazines including Arc, Descant, Branch, Dragnet, The Antigonish Review, Event, Queen's Quarterly, Grain and The Fiddlehead. He has received rave reviews from The National Post, The Ottawa Citizen, The Chicago Institute for Photography and Literature, The Ottawa International Writers Festival, SubTerrain Magazine, Broken Pencil Magazine, Ottawa Magazine, This Magazine, The Telegraph Journal, Lynn Crosbie, bill bissett, Emily Schultz, Susan Musgrave, Marilyn Bowering, George Fetherling, Phil Hall, Sean Wilson, Paul Gessell, rob mclennan, Alejandro Bustos, Melanie Jannisse, Catherine Owen and Lisa Moore. He has served as an adjudicator for The Canada Council, The Ontario Arts Council, The Ottawa Book Awards, Carleton University and This Magazine. His most recent work is in the Summer 2017 issue of Arc Magazine. Forthcoming are material in Taddle Creek Magazine, the anthology The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings and the novels Skin House, and I am Billy the Kid.

Vincent Colistro's poems have appeared in The Walrus, Hazlitt, Geist, Arc and elsewhere. He was a prize-winner in the 2012 Short Grain contest, and was nominated for National Magazine Award for Poetry in 2014. Late Victorians (Signal Editions, 2016) was his first book, but his new chapbook Mountain Fountain Font (Odourless Press, 2019) is what he's currently excited about.

Amanda Earl writes in Ottawa, and occasionally other places. She’s the managing editor of Bywords.ca and the fallen angel of AngelHousePress. Kiki (Chaudiere Books) is now available from Invisible Publishing. For more information, please visit AmandaEarl.com or connect with Amanda on Twitter @KikiFolle. Her latest chapbook, and her seventh from above/ground press, is Aftermath or Scenes of a Woman Convalescing (2019).

above/ground press will be at Meet the Presses' Indie Literary Market in Toronto, Nov 16 2019!

some author activity: Birchard, mclennan, Tracy, Notley, Schmaltz + Rosenthal,

Guy Birchard has a new poem in the "Tuesday poem" series over at the dusie blog; rob mclennan has had two poems up at Stride magazine here, and here; forthcoming author Dale Tracy is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey; above/ground press authors Alice Notley and Eric Schmaltz (among others) will have work included in the next edition of Best American Experimental Writing; and Sarah Rosenthal has new work in ELDERLY #30.

new from above/ground press: disrobing iris, by Mary Kasimor

disrobing iris
Mary Kasimor
$5

disrobing iris 

the vase enslaved a      repetition of roses

                       placed away from a     field            

               iris dies

   a bird’s logic grips the ceaseless      function door

        the       purple in     a white room

                              the primal sky         is meat

        red is another        chance at life

                   it is     another joke

        no one should disrobe     iris

                     as there never was        perfection

breath                     happens     is a mix up

glass cutting                 edges repeat following

                  another row of stones

         makes it impossible to meet     reaction

crushed spiders         bundled on a treadmill

                              water stains

succumbing to eyes                    blue              

         bulk snow                 on the corner lot

roots of pi          collapse in the middle

        sky blue soup writes itself     a recipe

and pure          thoughts

devising knives                forks

       beyond the         spiritual means eating

all that      blood             made an ancient birth

trees spy on            the rings of saturn

      motion a magic reflex        producing us

fallen bread            on       the titanic grows

           tender mold

disputes the seating arrangements      if it

       were the ocean      rows of 16 ounce cans       

                propped up                        the cult

an installment of shoes        a purity in

                the                  flickering circus

 

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
November 2019
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Mary Kasimor, who has been writing poetry for many years, considers her work experimental. Her recent poetry collections are The Landfill Dancers (BlazeVox Books 2014), Saint Pink (Moria Books 2015), The Prometheus Collage (Locofo Press 2017), and Nature Store (Dancing Girl Press 2017). Her poetry has been published in many journals, including Word For/Word, Touch the Donkey, Posit, Human Repair Kit, Arteidolia (collaboration with Susan Lewis), and Otoliths.

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com