The Factory Reading Series: Simpson, Brockwell + Peerbaye, February 20, 2016

span-o (the small press action network - ottawa) presents:
The Factory Reading Series:

Rachael Simpson (Ottawa)
Stephen Brockwell (Ottawa)
+ Soraya Peerbaye (Toronto)

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
Saturday, February 20, 2016;
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
The Carleton Tavern,
223 Armstrong Street (at Parkdale; upstairs)

Rachael Simpson's poetry has been published in Canada and the United States. She lives in Ottawa.

Stephen Brockwell is an Ottawa poet and small business owner. He is currently cultivating two very slow growing manuscripts of poetry and two seedling novellas.

Soraya Peerbaye’s first collection, Poems for the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names, was nominated for the Gerald Lampert Award. Her poems have previously appeared in Red Silk: An Anthology of South Asian Women Poets (Mansfield Press, 2004), edited by Priscila Uppal and Rishma Dunlop, as well as various literary journals; she has also contributed to the chapbook anthology Translating Horses (Baseline Press). She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Peerbaye also works with dance and theatre organizations in Toronto as a dramaturge and curator.

some author activity: mclennan, Anstee, Simpson, Earl + Christie,

rob mclennan participates in the "Blog Hop" self-interview; Cameron Anstee and Rachael Simpson, along with Jeff Blackman, Justin Million and jesslyn delia smith, are interviewed over at Open Book: Ontario on their "An Accords of Poets" tour; Amanda Earl responds to Susan M. Toy's book-meme questions over at Reading Recommendations; and Jason Christie has an essay in the "On Writing" series over at the ottawa poetry newsletter.

The Factory Reading Series : smith, Blackman, Anstee, Million + Simpson, October 11, 2014;

with readings by:

jesslyn delia smith
Jeff Blackman
Cameron Anstee
Justin Million
and Rachael Simpson

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
Saturday, October 11, 2014;
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
The Carleton Tavern,
223 Armstrong Street (at Parkdale; upstairs)

Five approximately Ottawa-based poets are hitting the road. jesslyn delia smith, Jeff Blackman, Cameron Anstee, Justin Million, and Rachael Simpson are reading in four cities in five days, taking their show to Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, and Peterborough from October 11-15, 2014.

Apt. 9 Press is publishing a book to mark the occasion. Five is Apt. 9’s first venture into publishing a book with a spine, and is currently being printed at the legendary Coach House in Toronto. Five collects new work.

Follow along at anaccordofpoets.wordpress.com.

jesslyn delia smith lives in Ottawa, ON, where she works 9-5 in a real estate office. 2014 poems have appeared in ottawater and The Steel Chisel, and her most recent chapbook the grass is a yard now, again was published in fall 2013 by Apt. 9 Press.

Jeff Blackman [pictured] grew up shy in Thornhill, ON, then got a little brave, moved to Ottawa, ON, and has a great love for the roads in between. His poetry has appeared over the last year or so via Blacklock’s Reporter, Bywords, and The Steel Chisel. Last year saw the publication of his first solo chapbook in some time, So Long As The People Are People, which is pretty much his hymnal.

Cameron Anstee lives in Ottawa, ON, where he runs Apt. 9 Press and is pursuing a PhD studying Canadian literature at the University of Ottawa. He has published chapbooks with above/ground press (Ottawa), The Emergency Response Unit (Marmora), and In/Words (Ottawa).

Justin Million [pictured] lives in Peterborough, ON, sells shoes in Pickering, ON, and might even make it to Toronto, ON someday.

Rachael Simpson’s poetry has been published in Canada (including as a broadsheet through above/ground press) and the United States. She lives in Ottawa, ON.

some author activity: Pirie, Barwin, hastain, Barton, Douglas, McKinnon, Simpson, Abel,

Pearl Pirie has a new poem in the March issue of Bywords.ca; Gary Barwin offers the fourth "first reading" of M. NourbeSe Philip's 'Zong' #6 over at Jacket2; j/j hastain responds to Jennifer K. Dick's series of essays on the fragment; John Barton has two new poems up at TRUCK, near the end of Colin Morton and Mary Lee Bragg's month curating March, as does Rhonda Douglas; Paul E. Nelson writes on Barry McKinnon; Rachael Simpson participates in the "My Writing Process - blog tour" interview; and Sean Cranbury interviews Jordan Abel for 49th Shelf.

"poem" broadsheet #325: Routes we take, by Rachael Simpson

I reach for the words I’ve used before.
I tell you the same things over and over.

Such watery talk.

I touch you in the places I know to find.
You respond in your old way.

We have our weather;

routes we take
to take again.

And as the slope of your shoulders
borders mine,

I look for a range of words
outlined in the distance.

Routes we take
by Rachael Simpson
above/ground press broadside #325

Rachael Simpson’s poetry has been published in Canada, the United States and abroad. Her debut chapbook, Eiderdown, was released in 2012 out of Apt 9 Press. She lives in Ottawa and blogs at seedandpearl.blogspot.ca

The Factory Reading Series pre-small press book fair reading: Simpson, Blaikie, McPherson + Lithgow,

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

The Factory Reading Series
pre-small press book fair reading

with readings/launches by:

Rachael Simpson (Ottawa)
David Blaikie (Ottawa)
Christian McPherson (Ottawa)
+ Michael Lithgow (Gatineau)

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
Friday, November 16, 2012;
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
The Carleton Tavern,
223 Armstrong Street (at Parkdale; upstairs)

Rachael Simpson’s chapbook Eiderdown (Apt 9 Press) will appear in Fall 2012. She lives in Ottawa.

David Blaikie grew up in rural Nova Scotia and spent more than four decades years in journalism and communications, including 18 years as a Parliamentary Press Gallery reporter with The Canadian Press, The Toronto Star and Reuters. Returning to poetry in recent years, he won the inaugural Tree Reading Series chapbook contest in 2011 for his entry, Farewell to Coney Island, which appeared with Tree Press in 2012. He lives in Ottawa.

Christian McPherson was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1970. He is the author of six books, Cube Squared (coming from Nightwood 2013-14), My Life in Pictures (Spring 2013 from Now or Never Publishing), The Sun Has Forgotten Where I Live, The Cube People (shortlisted for the 2011 ReLit Awards), Poems that swim from my brain like rats leaving a sinking ship (longlisted for the 2009 ReLit Awards), and Six Ways to Sunday (shortlisted for the 2008 ReLit Awards). He has a degree in philosophy from Carleton University and a computer programming diploma from Algonquin College. He is married to the beautiful Marty Carr. They have two kids, Molly and Henry. They all live together in Ottawa.

Michael Lithgow [pictured] is a PhD candidate in the School of Journalism and Communication. His poetry has appeared in Arc Magazine, The New Quarterly and Fiddlehead. Selections of his work have been included in Rutting Season (Buffalo Runs Press, 2009) and Undercurrents: New Voices in Canadian Poetry (Cormorant Books, 2010). His first solo collection, Waking in the Tree House, was published in Spring 2012 by Cormorant Books. He is currently a contributing editor at ArtThreat.net, research associate with the Canadian Alternative Media Archive project, and director of OpenMedia.ca. His doctoral research explores aesthetics, truth and dissent in digital and performance cultures.