some author activity: Burdick, Nećakov, Schmaltz + Henning,

Alice Burdick has a new essay up at The New Quarterly; Lillian Nećakov is interviewed alongside Scott Ferry and Lauren Scharhag for the podcast Meat for Teacast; Eric Schmaltz is interviewed by Myra Bloom at ASAP Review; and Barbara Henning has new work up at Long News.

report: Writer-in-Residence 50th Anniversary Alumni Showcase : Abel, Marlatt, Wah, mclennan, Carpenter, fitzpatrick, etc

In case you hadn't heard, above/ground press was well represented this past week at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, as part of the University of Alberta's Writer-in-Residence 50th Anniversary Alumni Showcase, held near the end of a full week when a slew of us prior writers-in-residence got to spend time together at the Banff Centre, up in them mountains (there was a full two days of snowfall, if you can imagine).

Hosted by Jordan Abel [who currently runs the w-i-r program], Jason Purcell and Julianna Wager [above, who organized the entire week as well], the event had opening remarks on a (very) brief history of the University of Alberta writer-in-residence program [remember when I conducted all those interviews for the fortieth, with every still-living uAlberta writer-in-residence I could find?] by Thomas Wharton, and readings by Daphne Marlatt, Fred Wah, Marilyn Dumont, Makda Mulatu, rob mclennan, Joshua Whitehead, January Rogers, J.R. Carpenter, ryan fitzpatrick, Cody Caetano, Jana Pruden, Kaitlyn Purcell and Hiromi Goto. There was a livestream that one can catch here, which unfortunately missed Wharton, picking up only mid-point through Marlatt's reading, but the full event was recorded, and should be up soon.

[J.R. Carpenter, above] With everyone reading roughly five minutes each, it truly was a remarkable event overall, including singing, staccato, lyric, chanting and prose, and even some tears. As you already know, the event was also a kind of launch for a handful of recent above/ground press titles specifically made for the event, by myself, Fred Wah, Daphne Marlatt, J.R. Carpenter, ryan fitzpatrick and Derek Beaulieu (Director of the Literary Arts at Banff, but not actually reading, although in the audience), although Wah was the only one of the group that actually read from his new title (I mean, I didn't even do that, so I've no business throwing shade). There were a handful of copies of all of these titles on site for free distribution, both through the event specifically and across the whole week, with a mound of copies still available gratis through the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta (just prod at Jordan Abel, if you are up that way), or just order direct from the press, of course. And did you hear I'm even back at the Banff Centre this November? I've already got a new slew of above/ground press publications in the works, just you wait.

[ryan fitzpatrick, above] It was good, also, to see various audience I hadn't been expecting (amid our packed house), including poet and former Tsunami Editions publisher Michael Barnholden, driving in from Edmonton with his wife, or poet Ryanne Kap, driving in from Calgary with a friend. Separately, Winnipeg poet Sharanpal Ruprai was actually at Banff as part of a playwriting retreat, and Vancouver poet Adèle Barclay was there as well, working a couple of weeks in one of the Leighton cabins, retreating. Edmonton writer Conor Kerr, who teaches at the University of Alberta, was also part of our group for most of the week. It still doesn't feel real, how good it all was.

Writer-in-Residence 50th Anniversary Alumni Showcase: mclennan, fitzpatrick, Wah, Marlatt, Carpenter, etc;

May 15, 2026 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Clvb 33, St. Julien Way, Banff, AB and online

REGISTER HERE;

The Writer-in-Residence program in the Department of English and Film Studies is delighted to invite you to attend our 50th anniversary Writer-in-Residence Alumni Showcase at the Banff Centre's Clvb 33. All are welcome to attend either in person or virtually.

There will be readings from Thomas Wharton, Fred Wah, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Cody Caetano, JR Carpenter, rob mclennan, Daphne Marlatt, Jana Pruden, Hiromi Goto, and Marilyn Dumont.

new from above/ground press: shore thing, by J.R. Carpenter

shore thing
J. R. Carpenter
$6

knee pads. 
joint aches.

glove hands.
wave wakes.

palm reads. 
sharp grit. 

boot slides.
slime slick. 

wind bone.
cold keen. 

caught prone.
torch beam.

dull gleam. 
of marble.

the sheen.
of cut.

stone dressed. 
for something.

grander.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
May 2026
produced in part for activity at Banff Centre, May 11-18, 
2026, as part of the 50th anniversary of the University of 
Alberta Writer-in-Residence program
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

J. R. Carpenter is a queer artist, writer, researcher, fossil hunter, PLA licensed mudlark, and Lecturer in Creative Practice in the School of English at University of Leeds, UK. The Gathering Cloud won the New Media Writing Prize 2016. An Ocean of Static was highly commended by the judges of the Forward Prizes 2018. A General History of the Air was published by above/ground in 2020. This is a Picture of Wind was listed in The Guardian’s best poetry books of 2020 and featured in the Digital Storytelling exhibition at the British Library 2023. Measures of Weather was a poetry book of the month in The Observer and a finalist for the Laurel Prize 2025. p a u s e. was published by Broken Sleep Books in 2026. For more information, visit: luckysoap.com

This is Carpenter’s second chapbook with above/ground press, after A General History of the Air (2020).

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

some author activity: Inniss, Carpenter, Lea, benedict, Solomon + Flemmer,

Scott Inniss has new work in the Spotlight series; J.R. Carpenter is featured in the Canadian Poets Series over at Peripety and/or Tronies; N.W. Lea is interviewed via the above/ground press substack; alex benedict has a new essay on d.a. levy over at Cleveland Review of Books; Misha Solomon is interviewed in the "12 or 20 questions" series; and Kyle Flemmer is interviewed over at the podcast On Creative Writing.

some author activity: Banks, Shirley, Unrau, Betts, Barwin + Carpenter,

Chris Banks offers his "best Canadian poetry books of 2025" list, via The Woodlot; Vik Shirley has a new poem up at Burning House Press; Melanie Dennis Unrau is included in the Canadian Poets Series via Peripety and/or Tronies; Gary Barwin, Gregory Betts and Lillian Allen are interviewed on their Muttertongue collaborative projects by Hollay Ghadery for the New Books Network podcast; and J.R. Carpenter has two poems online at The Manchester Review.

some author activity: Carpenter, Solomon, Armantrout, Mellis, Norris + Stengel,

I missed it before, but J.R. Carpenter has a collaborative work with Mary Paterson over at Pamenar Online Journal; Misha Solomon is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey; Rae Armantrout has two new poems online at Granta; Miranda Mellis has started a substack; Ken Norris has new work up at The Typescript; and Jill Stengel has a poem in the "Tuesday poem" series.

some author activity: mclennan, Webb, Jirgens, Carpenter, Pirie, Tracy + Massey,

a video of rob mclennan reading now exists online as part of the Gap Riot Press summer 2024 launch; there's a conversation between Lindsey Webb and Kelly Hoffer online at BOMB magazine, and Webb also has new poems and book recommendations up at Etcetera; Karl Jirgens has a poem in the "Tuesday poem" series; J.R. Carpenter has new work in Blackbox Manifold; and Pearl Pirie, Karen Massey and Dale Tracy have poems in the August issue of Bywords.ca

some author activity: Hogg, Mody, Carpenter, Earl + Niespodziany,

Robert Hogg is interviewed over at poetry mini interviews; Monica Mody is featured in Episode 223, S3 of the podcast Jazz Ready, hosted by Magdalena Gómez, Poet Laureate of Springfield, MA; J.R. Carpenter was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize; Amanda Earl writes on the artist statement, and revisiting old ones; and Benjamin Niespodziany has new work up at HAD.

some author activity: Earl, Cochrane, Maloukis + Carpenter,

Amanda Earl is the October winner of the "Arc Award of Awesomeness" from Arc Poetry Magazine; Mark Cochrane has a new poem up at Canadian Literature; Rose Maloukis has a new essay in the "Talking Poetics" series over at the ottawa poetry newsletter; and J.R. Carpenter posts part of an audio collaboration with Darren Hagen.

some author activity: Cooley, Tierney, o'brien, Carpenter + Dennis,

Dennis Cooley has a poem in the "poetry pause" series via The League of Canadian Poets; Orchid Tierney has some new poems in the latest issue of Marsh Hawk Press; forthcoming author katie o'brien has a poem in the "poetry pause" series as well; J.R. Carpenter displays her Edmonton surroundings as part of the virtual VERSeFest 2020; and Michael Dennis receives the Meet the Presses' Special Recognition Award for Commitment and Devotion to Small Press.

J.R. Carpenter is UAlberta's 2020-21 Writer-in-Residence

University of Alberta's EFS Writer-in-Residence Committee has announced that J. R. Carpenter will be their 2020-21 Writer-in-Residence. Congratulations, J.R.! It is a very good gig (I can say that with experience, as you most likely know). And of course, copies of her above/ground press chapbook, A General History of the Air (March 2020), are totally still available.

poetry pause : the league of canadian poets

Thanks to The League of Canadian Poets' "poetry pause" series for helping celebrate twenty-seven years of above/ground press! The series allowed me to curate ten authors for recent slots, all of whom are Canadian (and/or Canadian-based) authors with 2020 above/ground press publications. Most of the poems included in the series are reprinted from their collections, but a few even provided new poems! Here are the authors' names, with the links to their "poetry pause" poems: Dani Spinosa, George Stanley, Khashayar Mohammadi, kevin mcpherson eckhoff, Sarah Burgoyne, Lance La Rocque, J.R. Carpenter, Leesa Dean, Razielle Aigen and Dale Tracy. Can you believe we're twenty-seven years deep? What might the rest of the year bring? We are so close to thirty!

some author activity: Aigen, Tierney, Carpenter, mclennan + Burdick,

Razielle Aigen has new work up at IceFloe Press; forthcoming author Orchid Tierney has new work in Alligatorzine; J.R. Carpenter has a new essay in The Digital Review; Claire Kelly reads from rob mclennan's chapbook snow day as part of her #StuckAtHomeBookClub (copies are still available, by the by); and Alice Burdick is currently being interviewed over at poetry mini interviews.

new from above/ground press: A General History of the Air, by J.R. Carpenter

A General History of the Air
J. R. Carpenter
$5

what we understand by the air

              that thin, fluid, diaphanous body

       in which we breathe

       wherein we move

the constant and permanent ingredients of the air

       that numberless multitude of vapours

                                                           of exceedingly minute parts

       innumerable particles         of what we call light

       elastic particles like springs of watches

                                              slender wires

                                              curled hairs of wool

                                              thin shavings of wood

the destruction, generation, and absorption of the air

       necessary to the well-being

                                 the very being

                                                 being a body

       not withstanding the difficulties

      

       I desire to be understood in a familiar sense

of the moisture and dryness of the air

       a body is dry

       a quality near of kin

       a privation

       may occasion

       a change of texture

 

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
for the author’s appearance in Ottawa
at the 10th annual VERSeFest, March 24-29, 2020
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
 
J. R. Carpenter is a Canadian-born UK-based artist, writer, and practice-led researcher working across performance, print, and digital media. She is a fellow of the Moore Institute at NUI Galway and the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library. Her pioneering works of digital literature have been presented in museums, galleries, and festivals around the world. Her digital poem The Gathering Cloud won the New Media Writing Prize 2016. Her poetry collection An Ocean of Static (Penned in the Margins) was highly commended by the Forward Prizes 2018. Her next collection, This is a Picture of Wind, is forthcoming from Longbarrow Press in April 2020. http://luckysoap.com

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