report: the above/ground press 30th anniversary reading/launch/party!

Can you believe three decades have come and gone already? As you probably know, I hosted a reading and launch and party on August 12, 2023 at the Clocktower Brew Pub in the Glebe as part of the glorious thirtieth anniversary of above/ground press, with readings by Jennifer Baker, nina jane drystek, Amanda Earl, Sophia Magliocca, Karen Massey, Jérôme Melançon, Monty Reid and Grant Wilkins. Unfortunately, Adrienne Ho Rose was unable to come in from Iowa City, but we all waved at one point to acknowledge her (I wonder if she saw us wave?). Her parents still live here, so I'm hoping there might be further opportunities for her to read in Ottawa at some point.

David Currie and Christine McNair

It was nice to finally have another in-person anniversary event, given the prior one was back in 2019 [see my report on such here]. And, naturally, brilliant thanks to my slate of attractive volunteers: Christine McNair and David Currie who ran the book table, and Brendan McNally who covered door duty. And did you see that Christine even dressed the same colours as the cover (which was originally temporary, but I wonder now if it may have stuck) for this fall's groundwork: the best of the third decade of above/ground press 2013-2023 (Invisible Publishing)? Naturally, pre-orders are available now for this fine volume; and I think we're launching via the ottawa international writers festival this fall?

Amanda Earl

nina jane drystek [photo credit: Jérôme Melançon]

The first reader was Amanda Earl, who read from the latest issue of Touch the Donkey, which included some of her work. Having produced some ten chapbooks of her work-to-date through above/ground press [as well as a festschrift on her work], I always delight in hearing what she's been working on. Amanda really has been on fire the past few years. Have you heard that she's launching a new book soon? nina jane drystek launched her third chapbook and first with above/ground, missing matrilineal, a deeply intimate examination of loss that balances precision with open space, hesitation and clear patter.

Jennifer Baker [photo credit: David Currie]

Monty Reid

Jennifer Baker's Groundling: On Apology is a reissue of a chapbook she had in 2021 with the late John Goodman's Trainwreck Press, produced in a short enough run that she wanted to see it further out into the world. I know she works slowly, but I've been curious to see what else she's been working on. I was first introduced to her work through Phil Hall, from his time as writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa, which resulted in the publication of Baker's chapbook debut, Abject Lessons (2014). Monty Reid's Where there's smoke emerged as a direct result of the ongoing fires, with smoke that stretched not only across Quebec and Ontario, but his prior landscape of Alberta [you saw the festschrift I produced on his work, yes?]. I told the story of meeting Monty for the first time when we both participated in a group reading for National Poetry Month through The League of Canadian Poets, back on April 1, 1999 (curated and hosted by Susan McMaster, I think it was). I was curious at him travelling all that way for the reading, and he said: No, I moved here yesterday.

Chris Johnson [photo credit: Jérôme Melançon]

Oh, and I suggested Chris Johnson bring along copies of the latest issue of Arc Poetry Magazine for potential sale, given the new issue has a good-sized essay on above/ground press by Jérôme Melançon. Make sure you pick up a copy!

Karen Massey [photo credit: Jérôme Melançon]

Sophia Magliocca

It does seem that every decade or so above/ground press produces a new chapbook by Karen Massey, a poet who is clearly long overdue for a first full-sized collection. When might that happen? If only we were still doing Chaudiere Books, honestly. Karen was one of the first people (and only participant younger than forty) that I met when I first started attending readings via The TREE Reading Series circa 1992. Where has the time gone? Her third chapbook, SONGS FROM THE DEMENTIA SUITCASE, is easily the strongest work I've seen from her so far. Next up was Montreal-based poet Sophia Magliocca, launching her chapbook debut and arriving with her parents in tow, all of whom were deeply supportive and absolutely adorable. Adorable! Sophia (one of a growing list of authors younger than the press) is a poet I first heard about through a recommendation by Montreal poet Sarah Burgoyne, who has offered a handful of poets with chapbook manuscripts my way over the past few years (Misha Solomon, Rose Maloukis and Vivian Lewin being others). Sarah clearly has an interesting eye. I am looking forward to seeing what Sophia does next.

Jérôme Melançon

Jérôme Melançon flew in from Regina (to visit family in Gatineau, but we coordinated) to launch his third above/ground press chapbook, Bridges under the water. There aren't that many attending English and French-language poetries the way he is, now having published works in both languages, as well as writing criticism on both French and English-language titles in periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. You should catch this interview I did with him last year over at Touch the Donkey on the two sides of his language/poetic: there's some interesting stuff in there.

rob mclennan [photo credit: Jérôme Melançon]

And he even pushed me to read a poem, saying that he came all this way and wanted to hear me read in person. So I did!

Grant Wilkins [photo credit: Jérôme Melançon]

The final reader of the evening was Ottawa poet and printer Grant Wilkins, who somehow exploded out of the woodwork a few years back, despite being around the Ottawa literary scene since the early 1990s (not long after I emerged). Grant always used to tell folk that he didn't write, no no, but I think it was his work with jwcurry and Messagio Galore that prompted something, whether a newfound interest or confidence, and now he's doing the most interesting combination of sound, visual and conceptual/response work around. We launched not one but two chapbooks of his as part of this event (with a prior above/ground press title earlier this year and even another one last year). What might be next?

Thanks so much for all who attended! It was such a great crowd, including natalie hanna, Charles Earl, Marilyn Irwin, Rob Fairchild, Jason Christie, Frances Boyle, Ellen Chang-Richardson, Cathy Macdonald-Zytveld, Marc Adornado, Susan Johnston, Senka Stankovic and a whole bunch more. Thanks again to the Clocktower Brew Pub! It was a pretty nice space. We clearly need to do this again next year.

some author activity: Reid, Logan, Higdon, Houbolt + Munson,

Monty Reid is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey; Nate Logan has new work up at Otoliths, as well as Leavings; Hailey Higdon wrote an article on mothering for Nashville Scene; forthcoming author Kyla Houbolt has a prose poem up at Idle Ink; and Jed Munson answers the '12 and 20 questions.'

some author activity: Notley, Martin, Waldrop, Collis, Trivedi, Olsen + Iijima,

Alice Notley has a new poem up at Harper's magazine; Camille Martin has been posting further to her blog lately; obituary for Keith Waldrop in The New York Times; Stephen Collis is featured up at Etcetera; Amish Trivedi has some new poems up at Tupelo Quarterly; and Geoffrey Olsen and Brenda Iijima have new work in the debut issue of The Call Center Collective.

Jill Mandrake reviews M.A.C. Farrant's SOME OF THE PUZZLES (2021) in Geist #123

Thanks much to Jill Mandrake, who provided a first review for M.A.C. Farrant's SOME OF THE PUZZLES (2021) in the spring 2023 issue of Geist! Naturally, there are some copies still available, but be aware that most of the pieces also appear this month in her latest full-length from Talonbooks, Jigsaw!

above/ground press' anniversary in Apt613, Toronto Star + Amanda Earl's substack!

We will see you at tonight's above/ground press 30th anniversary event tonight, yes? In case you hadn't seen, Steven W. Beattie was good enough to include myself and above/ground in an article on small press that ran in the Toronto Star (as well as some other places), Ryan Pepper wrote on tonight's event at Apartment613, and Amanda Earl was kind enough to provide some anniversary/birthday acknowledgement via her clever substack. Thanks so much!

new from above/ground press: Poetic Constructions: Poems written for the Enriched Bread Artists’ 2020 Open Studio, by Grant Wilkins

Poetic Constructions
Poems written for the Enriched Bread Artists’ 2020 Open Studio
Grant Wilkins
$5

      Poem for Marije Bijl


Machiavelli’s thoughts on power,
a collage in ink and acrylic on paper.
Blue hair, red eyes and a lot of orange,
but basically a realistic portrait
of European-ness,
the heretics of doctrine
and western, white identity.

A personal vision of harmony and art,
coloured by cigarettes, Greek helmets,
a collection of Dutch poetry,
and too many winter nights spent in Beijing,
ever on the cusp of enlightenment…
like Catharina de Medici
(who did it for God).


* * * *

Poetic Constructions

In the fall of 2020, with the world in lock-down, the annual EBA Open Studio – a perennial highlight on Ottawa’s arts calendar – had to “go virtual.” This presented a unique opportunity to create a literary component to go along with the EBA artists’ more usual visual focus.

I wrote the resulting poems using texts and artists statements provided by the EBA and artists themselves, as well as the poet’s direct observations of the art on display during the Open Studio, and my own knowledge of the work of many of the artists.

I would like to thank the artists who participated in this project for trusting me with their work: Sarah Anderson, Marije Bijl, Taylor Boileau Davidson, Patricia Kenny, Juliana McDonald, Christos Pantieras, Mana Rouholamini, Daniel Sharp, Svetlana Swinimer and Joyce Westrop.

Thanks to Marije, Mana and Joyce for organizing the project and making it happen. Thanks to Petra Halkes for her interviewing skills, and special thanks to David Westrop for his work in building the webpage for the poetry.

The Enriched Bread Artists website can be found here

The Poetic Constructions website can be found here

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
August 2023
as part of above/ground press’ thirtieth anniversary
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
[Grant Wilkins will be launching this title in Ottawa as part of the above/ground press 30th anniversary reading/launch/party on August 12!]

Grant Wilkins is an occasional poet, printer and papermaker from Ottawa who has made a practice of doing strange things to other people’s words. He has degrees in History & Classical Civilization and in English, and he likes ink, metal, paper, letters, sounds and words, in no particular order.

This is Wilkins’ fourth chapbook with above/ground press, after Reading The Great Classics Of Canlit through Book 5 of bpNichol’s The Martyrology (2022), In Which Archibald Lampman / Translates Arthur Rimbaud (2023) and The Baroness and her Ex Read Orgasmic Toast: To Whom It May Concern (2023).

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 rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

new from above/ground press: missing matrilineal, by nina jane drystek

missing matrilineal
nina jane drystek
$5

               there is only

 

edge of knife
             tine of fork
                         spoon to eat grapefruit

                      flesh

my grandmother how me how to make the perfect shape

                       mirror of a nail
                       neck          line
                       needle      hem

hold pustule between finger & thumb
                        squash it with tongue         

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
August 2023
as part of above/ground press’ thirtieth anniversary
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
[nina jane drystek will be launching this title in Ottawa as part of the above/ground press 30th anniversary reading/launch/party on August 12!]

cover image: Woman before a Mirror (1897) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

nina jane drystek is a poet, writer and performer based in Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory. she is author of a:of:in (Gap Riot Press, 2021) and knewro suite (Simulacrum Press, 2019), and her poems have appeared in online and print publications, as well as in self-published chapbooks and broadsides. her original sound poem scores can be heard on bandcamp. she is one of the co-founders of Riverbed Reading Series, was shortlisted for the 2020 Bronwen Wallace Award for Poetry, writes collaborative poetry with VII – authors of holy disorder of being (Gap Riot, 2022) and Towers (Collusion Books, 2021) – and performs sound poetry with the rotating group of collaborators. if you have ever lived in the same city as her you have likely seen her riding a red or blue bicycle. you can find her @textcurious.

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 rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

new from above/ground press: Girl gives long-fingered self-portrait, by Sophia Magliocca

Girl gives long-fingered self-portrait
Sophia Magliocca
$5

Note

I’ve overpaid my dues to the screen
billed 21 hours of glossy eyes on the glass
resisted rubbing thrusting my hips on the gram
even tongue wrestled some pens today
committed to a new notebook
stopped clanking in the back scene
convinced myself sleep won’t make me better
even hit my protein goal by noon
cleared my throat
driven off the island
shaken the angst from my skin
even combed my hair  

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
August 2023
as part of above/ground press’ thirtieth anniversary
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
[Sophia Magliocca will be launching this title in Ottawa as part of the above/ground press 30th anniversary reading/launch/party on August 12!]

cover art: Salvatore Magliocca

Sophia Magliocca is a Master’s student in English Literature at Concordia University (Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal) where she researches the effects of (mis)interpreting how women's legacies are documented across literary history. Sophia is a known lover of travel, pasta and orange cats. Most recently she has published poetry in Canadian literary journals such as Yolk, Montreal Writes and periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. Find her on Instagram @sophmagli

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 rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com