Ottawa poets respond to works by Enriched Bread Artists
edited by David O’Meara
$6
Susan J Atkinson
responding to Svetlana Swinimer
Manahil Bandukwala
responding to Katherine Zarull
nina jane drystek
responding to Yvonne Wiegers
Matthew Firth
responding to Daniel Sharp
Cara Goodwin
responding to Christos Pantieras
Chris Johnson
responding to Cindy Stelmackowich
Colin Morton
responding to Jennifer Macklem
Sandra Ridley
responding to Sandra Gregson
Ian Roy
responding to Joyce Westrop
Deborah-Anne Tunney
responding to Bozica RadjenovicIntroduction
David O’Meara,
Poet Laureate (anglophone) of the City of Ottawa (2024-2027)
I’ve always loved the idea of the artists’ studio, ideally of high walls, in paint-spattered warehouse dimensions, often repurposed from spaces too difficult to make residential. Above all, they are workplaces, locations of thought, attention, and experiment. They value solitude and reflection, but can also be social with robust discussion. The rooms at the Enriched Bread Artist’s studios exemplify this spirit. Repurposed from The Standard Bread Company, a bread factory built in 1924, the studios have served numerous local visual artists since the not-for-profit collective was founded in 1991. Each year, the EBA hosts an Open Studio when the Ottawa art audience is invited to visit the studios to view completed and ongoing projects in situ. In the past I have attended some of these weekends and always felt inspired by the rich variety (yes, breadth) of creativity in process there. This year, as a Poet Laureate of the City of Ottawa, I approached the EBA’s Cindy Stelmackowich and Christos Pantieras with the idea of bringing some Ottawa poets and EBA visual artists together for a conversation, in an ekphrastic vein, to extend one domain of artfulness into two. Poets were invited to talk about themes, mediums, and process with the artists, and write something in response. This chapbook is the result of that collaboration. I encourage you to visit the artists' websites and immerse yourself in their dynamic and wide-ranging approaches to expression, then return to the poems for each nuanced interpretation. Thank you to all the collaborating poets and artists, to Cindy and Christos for their enthusiastic partnership. Many thanks to Nik Ives-Allison and the City of Ottawa for support with its ongoing Laureate program, VERSeFest, Frances Boyle, rob mclennan and Allison Armstrong.
published in Ottawa by above/ground press
October 2026
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
produced for an event at Enriched Bread Artists Studio (951 Gladstone Avenue, Ottawa), Saturday, October 24, 2026 from 2-4pm. follow a studio tour in the EBA building where each poet will read their poem adjacent to the artist' work. A limited number of copies of the chapbook will be provided free at the event.
cover image design: Leigha Stiles (Instagram @artbystiles)
Poets/artists:
Susan J Atkinson is the author of two full length collections. Her latest publication, Alice In The City was published by Anstruther Press in 2025. Visit www.susanjatkinson.com to find out more.
Manahil Bandukwala is the author of Heliotropia and MONUMENT. She was selected as a Writer’s Trust of Canada Rising Star in 2023. See her work at manahilbandukwala.com.
nina jane drystek is a poet, writer and performer based in Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory. she is the author of the chapbooks missing matrilineal (above/ground press, 2023), a : of : in (Gapriot Press, 2021) and knewro suite (Simulacrum Press, 2019), co-founder of Riverbed Reading Series and an alumnus of the Banff Centre for the Arts. she writes collaboratively with VII – authors of holy disorder of being (Gap Riot, 2022) and Towers (Collusion Books, 2021) – and performs sound poetry with a rotating group of collaborators. you can find her and her sound poetry recordings online as textcurious.
Matthew Firth lives in Ottawa. Anvil Press published his first full-length poetry collection Asking for Directions in 2023. Prior, he had four short story collections published, including Shag Carpet Action (Anvil Press, 2011). He is a regular contributor to subTerrain magazine. Firth plays hockey, tennis, and lacrosse and likes birds, books and beer.
Cara Goodwin is a white settler and Cree, Ottawa-based poet and proud off-reserve member of Fort McMurray 468 First Nation. Her above/ground press debut, Map of What Was Taken (2026), was recently launched at the publisher's 33rd anniversary party on August 22 at Anina’s Café.
Sandra Gregson is based in Ottawa, Canada. Her work includes drawing, painting, sculpture and video. She holds an MFA from York University and a BFA from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Sandra has participated in art residencies in Canada and Europe; her artwork has been exhibited throughout Canada and her videos have been screened nationally and internationally. Her work is included in public and private collections including the Canada Council Art Bank, City of Ottawa, and McMaster University. In 2024, the National Capital Commission, Official Residences, purchased her painting Mother Tree.
Chris Johnson (he/him) was born in Scarborough, ON, and currently lives on unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation (Ottawa). His latest chapbook is after (Paper Bill Press, 2026).
Jennifer Macklem is a visual artist who has lived along the shore of the St. Lawrence River for much of her life, in rural Ontario and Montréal. The material explorations in her practice is speculative, imagining the subjectivities of other living organisms while engaging with uncertainty and risk. She is a full Professor of Visual Art at the University of Ottawa.
Colin Morton has twice received the Archibald Lampman Award for poetry. His most recent book, Scar Atlas, was longlisted for the Al and Eurithe Purdy Prize.
Christos Pantieras is from Ottawa, Ontario. He received an M.F.A. in sculpture from York University, and a B.F.A. from the University of Ottawa. Pantieras explores themes of communication, relationships, autobiography, and intimacy. Sourcing online language from emails, text messages, and gay hook-up apps, he manipulates the digital word through analog processes. His work amplifies the resonance of a lost connection while blurring the boundaries between virtual space and physical space.
Bozica Radjenovic was born and educated in Belgrade, Serbia. She received her BFA and MFA from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. In 1993 she moved to Canada. Radjenovic’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, the Zepter Museum in Belgrade, the City of Ottawa Fine Art Collection and Scotiabank Fine Art Collection as well as in various private collections in Canada and Europe. She is represented by Central Art Garage.
Sandra Ridley is the author of three chapbooks and five books of poetry, the most recent of which is Vixen (Book*hug Press), winner of the 2024 Pat Lowther Award, Ottawa Book Award, and Archibald Lampman Award.
Ian Roy is the author of six books, including a new collection of stories called Astrid, Aghast. He lives in Ottawa.
Daniel Sharp is a painter, a recreational hockey player, and a shambolic reader of poetry. He has maintained a studio at Enriched Bread Artists for many years. He also works part-time as a project team administrator for some public art commissions for phase 2 the Ottawa light rail transit. Sharp paints abstract compositions which are meditations on daily experience, and explorations of symbols and metaphors. Some of his paintings veer into the fields of landscape and portraiture.
Cindy Stelmackowich is a visual artist, curator and academic. She works within the boundaries of art and science, exploring the materiality of the body and the natural world through digital photography, sculpture and installations. She a long-term member at the Enriched Bread Artists studios.
Svetlana Swinimer is a Russian born artist internationally known for her paintings and sculptures.
Deborah-Anne Tunney’s short story collection, The View from the Lane, and novel, Winter Willow, were published by Great Plains Publications. Her collection of poetry, A Different Wolf, was published by McGill-Queen's University Press and won the Archibald Lampman award in 2021. She has lived in Ottawa most of her life.
Joyce Westrop is an Ottawa-based contemporary artist who transitioned from a career in the federal government to earn her BFA with top honors from the University of Ottawa in 2001. A long-time member of the Enriched Bread Artists collective, her award-winning drawings and sculptures have been widely exhibited and acquired by major public collections, including the Art Bank of Canada and the City of Ottawa. She is currently represented by galerie St Laurent + Hill.
Yvonne Wiegers examines her curiosity about the world through drawing, painting, and sculpture. She has exhibited in Canada, United States, Sri Lanka and Russia. Her work is in public and private collections. She has a B.A. (University of Guelph) and an MFA (University of Calgary) garnering the department’s nomination for the Governor General’s Medal.
Katherine Zarull, CSPWC, SCA, a painter and printmaker, is currently developing environmental works using hand made papers and natural fibres.
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.
This is David O'Meara’s fourth 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—as well as Planting Seeds: Fletcher Garden Poems (2026).
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
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