new from above/ground press: THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN: prose poems, by Dag T. Straumsvåg

THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN: prose poems
Dag T. Straumsvåg
$6

THE THUMB GRIP

You want to get your life in order and grab it by the neck, but it’s difficult: a mixture of laziness and poor skills you must mould into something useful. It doesn’t work in the company of others, it doesn’t work alone. You must reconstruct your entire life. Even your soul. Maybe you’d better try the thumb grip orienteerers use, marking your current position by constantly thumbing the map. That way, you’ll always have one hand free to swat away insects and the other runners in the woods. Each checkpoint you reach will be a disappointment. You adjust your thumb, and continue running toward the next checkpoint. In the distance you can glimpse the finishing line. Maybe you’ll be the first to cross.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
June 2026
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Cover design by Beth Elliott

Dag T. Straumsvåg lives in Trondheim, Norway, and is the author and translator  of eleven books of poetry, including But in the Stillness (Apt. 9 Press, 2024), Tom Hennen: Finn eit stille regn (Find a Quiet Rain, translations, A + D Trondheim | Minneapolis, 2024), A Further Introduction to Bingo w/Jason Heroux (above/ground press, 2024) and The Mountains of Kong: New & Selected Prose Poems (Assembly Press, 2025). He co-founded and ran the micro press A + D Trondheim | Minneapolis with Angella Kassube, who died in December 2025 and whom this book is for. The press will continue, with creative director and designer Beth Elliott, Angella's long-time friend, doing the cover art and design. His work has appeared in a wide variety of journals in Norway, Canada and the United States.

This is Straumsvåg’s second title with above/ground press, after the collaborative A Further Introduction to Bingo (with Jason Heroux, 2024).

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

Noah Berlatsky includes Jason Heroux and Dag T. Straumsvag's A Further Introduction to Bingo (2024) as part of his "Best Books of 2025" list,

American poet, critic and above/ground press author Noah Berlatsky was good enough to include Jason Heroux and Dag T. Straumsvag's collaborative chapbook A Further Introduction to Bingo (2024) as part of his "Best Books of 2025" list. Thanks so much! You can catch his full list here. As he writes:

Jason Heroux & Dag T. Straumsvag
A Further Introduction to Bingo

Jason Heroux and Dag T. Straumsvag’s above/ground chapbook is a collection of apparently randomly numbered, semi-surreal, semi-elegaic prose poems/vignettes about a bingo parlor, a mathematician, and some numbers seeking meaning, or maybe just sequence. As in Lewis Caroll, it’s not just reality but logic itself that breaks down as our sort of heroes, sort of abstractions wander from elevator to parking lot to funeral parlor asking questions like, “Did numbers have parents?” and “Why can’t your letter be delivered?” Russel Edson and James Tate are maybe touchstones, but Heroux and Straumsvag attain a loopy, giggling sense of missed prizes that is all their own. Heroux’s 2nd above/ground chapbook of the year, My Life As a Notebook, is almost as wonderful.

some author activity: Unsworth, Kolewe, mclennan, Ursuliak, Kratz + Straumsvåg,

[photo by Dag T. Straumsvåg] Lydia Unsworth has two new poems up at The Manchester Review; R. Kolewe has a poem up in the "Tuesday poem" series; rob mclennan has some new work up at Noir Sauna; Emily Ursuliak has an essay up at The Goose; and Al Kratz is interviewed by Constance Malloy.

some author activity: Mellis, Gevirtz, Niespodziany, Dardis, Barwin + Straumsvåg,

Miranda Mellis writes on Karl Ove Knausgaard over at Hilobrow; Susan Gevirtz has a new poem posted as part of the "Tuesday poem" series; Benjamin Niespodziany has new work up at Afterimages; Colin Dardis has four poems up at Rochford Street Review; Hollay Ghadery podcast interviews Gary Barwin; and Dag T. Straumsvåg is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey.

some author activity: Manery, Markotić, Doller, Straumsvåg, Heroux, Fagan, Barwin, Reid + Solomon,

forthcoming author Sandra Doller is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey; Dag T. Straumsvåg and Jason Heroux's collaborative chapbook gets a nice mention by Cary Fagan over at his review blog; Gary Barwin has an archived poem up at The Walrus; Monty Reid is reviewed by Dawn Macdonald; and Misha Solomon has new work up in the Spotlight series.

some author activity: Archer, mclennan, Caporaso, Pirie, Niespodziany, Straumsvåg + Ross,

Sacha Archer has posted a new concrete (poetry/fiction) audiobook to bandcamp; rob mclennan's fourteenth annual 'best of' Canadian poetry titles has landed via dusie, and has a new section of "the green notebook" posted at The Typescript; Angela Caporaso's above/ground press title has landed on the Asemic Front 2 Top Ten Vispo Faves of 2024 list; Pearl Pirie offers her "Self-audit and Best of" list of 2024; Benjamin Niespodziany has three new poems up at The Pi Review; Dag T. Straumsvåg has a poem up in the "Tuesday poem" series; and a video of Stuart Ross reading at Carthage College as part of their Visiting Writers Series, Kenosha WI, October 8, 2024 is now online.

new from above/ground press: A Further Introduction to Bingo, by Jason Heroux and Dag T. Straumsvåg

A Further Introduction to Bingo
Jason Heroux and Dag T. Straumsvåg
$5

25

Meanwhile, the mathematician crosses the town square, walks down North Street, turns right, and enters the Britannia Hotel. Fifteen minutes later he reappears on the street. At 1 pm, on a bench outside the cathedral, he eats a sandwich. He spends all afternoon in the harbour, watching the fishing boats come in. Ten, at dusk, he walks home. Once inside, he heads straight for the kitchen table, and starts jotting down numbers in a notebook. At 11 pm he gets up, undresses, turns of the lights, and starts playing his xylophone in the dark.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
December 2024
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Cover and interior design by Angella Kassube

Jason Heroux lives in Kingston. His recent publications include a chapbook Blizzard of None (Puddles of Sky Press) and the collection of prose poems Like a Trophy from the Sun (Guernica Editions). He was the Poet Laureate for the City of Kingston from 2019 to 2022.

Dag T. Straumsvåg lives in Trondheim, Norway, and is the author and translator of ten books of poetry, including Nelson (Proper Tales Press, 2017), But in the Stillness (Apt. 9 Press, 2024), and The Mountains of Kong: New & Selected Prose Poems (Assembly Press, 2025). He runs the small press A + D with his girlfriend, the artist and graphic designer Angella Kassube. His work has appeared in a wide variety of journals in Norway, Canada, and the United States.

This is Jason Heroux’s second title with above/ground press, after Something or Other (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