The Factory Reading Series: Leyton, lopes + Moody-Corbett, December 2, 2015

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

The Factory Reading Series presents:

Katherine Leyton (Ottawa)
damian lopes (Barrie ON)
+ Rod Moody-Corbett (Calgary)

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
Raw Sugar Cafe
692 Somerset St W, Ottawa

Katherine Leyton [pictured] is a poet and non-fiction writer whose work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Hazlitt, The Malahat Review and Bitch. All the Gold Hurts My Mouth, her first collection of poetry, will be published by Goose Lane in March 2016. She was the inaugural Writer-in-Residence at the Al & Euirthe Purdy A-Frame in the summer of 2014. She recently moved to Ottawa from Toronto.

Currently the Poet Laureate for the City of Barrie, damian lopes is the author of several books of poetry and a former editor at Coach House Books. His most recent publication, yasser arafat is dead, is a poetry chapbook published by Ottawa’s above/ground press. In addition to poetry, damian continues to work on his first novel.

See the recent profile on him at Jacket2, as part of rob mclennan's 'commentaries': http://jacket2.org/commentary/damian-lopes-three-new-poems

Rod Moody-Corbett holds an MA in creative writing from the University of New Brunswick, and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Calgary. His short story, “Parse,” was a finalist for the 2013 CBC Short Story Prize, and winner of that prize’s People’s Choice Award. His work has appeared in numerous Canadian journals, and he was recently named a finalist in The Paris Review’s “Windows On the World” contest. His work is forthcoming in The Calgary Renaissance (Ottawa: Chaudiere Books, 2016).

above/ground press twenty-second anniversary reading and launch: Best, Earl + Thomas,

above/ground press twenty-second anniversary reading and launch
with readings by:

Ashley-Elizabeth Best (Kingston)
Amanda Earl (Ottawa)
+ Hugh Thomas (Montreal)

Thursday, August 27, 2014
7pm door / 7:30pm reading
Raw Sugar Cafe
692 Somerset St W, Ottawa
lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
$5 at the door / includes a copy of a recent above/ground press chapbook, or a copy of Touch the Donkey!

Ashley-Elizabeth Best [pictured] is from Cobourg, ON. Her work has been published in Fjords, CV2, Berfrois, Grist and Ambit Magazine, among other publications. Recently she was shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry. Her first collection of poems, Slow States of Collapse is forthcoming with ECW Press. She lives and writes in Kingston.

She will be launching her chapbook, Now You Have Many Legs To Stand On. This is her first chapbook and second publication with above/ground press, after the "poem" broadside "from Algonquin" (#315, 2012).

Amanda Earl is a troublemaker who haunts the streets & watering holes of Ottawa for inspiration. She is still in love with Kiki (Chaudiere Books, 2014), her poetry book celebrating the spirit of Montparnasse & hopes that you will be too. Find  her on Twitter @KikiFolle or read about her in secret at AmandaEarl.com.

She will be launching her chapbook, A BOOK OF SAINTS, an excerpt from Saint Ursula’s Commonplace Book. This is Earl’s fourth chapbook with above/ground press, after Sex First & Then A Sandwich (2012), The Sad Phoenician’s Other Woman (2008) and Eleanor (2007).

Hugh Thomas is a poet and translator who has just moved to Montreal, where he will be teaching mathematics at UQAM.  His most recent chapbook, Albanian Suite, was published by above/ground press in 2014.  His previous chapbook, Opening the Dictionary, also published by above/ground press, was shortlisted for the 2012 bpNichol chapbook award.

He will be launching a chapbook of "naive translations," Six Swedish Poets. This is his third chapbook with above/ground press, after Albanian Suite (2014) and Opening the Dictionary (2011).

above/ground press twenty-first anniversary reading and launch: Christie, Dolman + Weaver,

above/ground press twenty-first anniversary reading and launch

with readings by:
Jason Christie (Ottawa)
Anita Dolman (Ottawa)
+ Andy Weaver (Toronto)

Thursday, August 14, 2014
7pm door / 7:30pm reading
Raw Sugar Cafe
692 Somerset St W, Ottawa
lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
$6 at the door / includes a copy of a recent above/ground press chapbook, or a copy of either the first or second issue of the new poetry journal Touch the Donkey!

author bios:

New Ottawa resident (temporary) Jason Christie's [pictured] poems have appeared in many journals and magazines, including N/A, filling Station, dANDelion, Poetry is Dead, Action, Yes!, The Capilano Review, West Coast Line and Interim. He is the author of several chapbooks. Jason is the author of i-ROBOT Poetry (http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/irobotpoetry/ir-catalog.html), Canada Post (http://snarebooks.wordpress.com/books/jason-christie/) and Unknown Actor (http://www.insomniacpress.com/title.php?id=978-1-55483-101-2). He is also an editor alongside angela rawlings and derek beaulieu of the anthology Shift & Switch: New Canadian Poetry (http://www.themercurypress.ca/?q=books/shift_switch). Jason has lived in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and now Ottawa. He is currently writing poems about a fictitious forest, a tongue-in-cheek take on Jason and The Argonauts, and Money.

His most recent above/ground press publication is the chapbook GOVERNMENT (2013).

Anita Dolman’s poetry and flash fiction have appeared in journals and magazines throughout Canada and the United States, including, most recently, in Grain, Bywords.ca, The Antigonish Review, Ottawater and The Peter F. Yacht Club. Her short story “Happy Enough” is available as an e-book (Morning Rain Publishing, Burlington, 2014). above/ground has published her poetry in various broadsides and chapbooks, and her translations in the 2013 chapbook Two Dutch Poets: Hélène Gelens and Erik Lindner.

Her most recent above/ground press publication is the "poem" broadside “jwcurry’s Map Drawers” (#328).

Andy Weaver has published two books of poetry, Were the bees (NeWest, 2005) and Gangson (NeWest, 2011). He teaches contemporary poetry and poetics at York University.

He will be launching the chapbook concatenations (above/ground press), his fifth above/ground press publication and third chapbook publication, after Three Ghazals to the constellation Corvus (The Crow) (2001) and Other Work for your Hands (2004).

The Factory Reading Series: Pirie, Spenst + Madhavan-Reese

The Factory Reading presents:
a night of readings and chapbook launches

with readings by:

Pearl Pirie (Ottawa)
Kevin Spenst (Vancouver)
+ Sneha Madhavan-Reese (Ottawa)

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
Wednesday, April 23, 2014;
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
Raw Sugar Cafe
692 Somerset Street West (1 block west of Bronson)

author bios:

Pearl Pirie has a few chapbooks, a micro press, several blogs, a gig as literary radio host and irregular gigs to teach poetry. She has two poetry collections, and a third forthcoming with BookThug in 2015. None of these poems are in them so you have to buy them both.

She will be launching the chapbook vertigoheel for the dilly (2013), her fourth above/ground press publication and second chapbook, after oath in the boathouse (2008).

In addition to the UK, the United States, Austria and India, Kevin Spenst’s [pictured, above] poetry has appeared in over a dozen Canadian literary publications such as Freefall, Prairie Fire, CV2, Dandelion, filling Station, qwerty, and Poetry is Dead. His work has been shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry and his manuscript Ignite has come in as a finalist for the Alfred G. Bailey Prize. In 2011, he won the Lush Triumphant Award for Poetry. In 2014 he is going to do a 100-venue reading tour across Canada with his chapbooks Pray Goodbye (the Alfred Gustav Press, 2013), Retractable (the serif of nottingham, 2013), Happy Hollow and the Surrey Suite (self-published, 2012), What the Frag Meant (100 tetes press, 2014) and Surrey Sonnets (JackPine press, 2014). Follow the chapbook tour at kevinspenst.com

Born in Detroit, Sneha Madhavan-Reese calls Ottawa home. Her poetry has appeared in Arc, Descant, and The Antigonish Review. Her debut poetry collection is forthcoming in 2016 from Hagios Press.

The Lampman Award Shortlist + Diana Brebner Prize reading, October 17, 2013

The annual Archibald Lampman Award shortlist reading happens in Ottawa on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at Raw Sugar Cafe (692 Somerset W., Ottawa) at 7:30pm, with readings by the authors of the three shortlisted works: Christine McNair, Conflict (BookThug), Nina Berkhout, elseworlds (Seraphim) and E. Russell Smith, Petroglyph Beach (The RightEyedDeer Press). The evening will also feature a reading by recent Diana Brebner Award winner and above/ground press author Marilyn Irwin.

The 2013 Archibald Lampman Award will be presented on October 22, at the Shenkman Arts Centre, in conjunction with the City of Ottawa Book Awards.

The Factory Reading Series presents: a VERSeFest fundraiser; lectures/talks by Earl, Hancock + O'Meara

The Factory Reading Series presents:

A VERSeFest Fundraiser : with lectures/talks on writing by

Amanda Earl (Ottawa)
Brecken Hancock (Ottawa)
+ David O'Meara (Ottawa)

as a fundraiser for Ottawa’s fourth annual VERSeFest Poetry Festival, March 2014

lovingly hosted by rob mclennan
Thursday, November 21, 2013
8$ door cover
doors 7pm; reading 7:30pm
Raw Sugar Cafe, 692 Somerset St W  Ottawa, ON

Amanda Earl is a poet, publisher and pornographer. She's the editor of Bywords.ca & the fallen angel of AngelHousePress. In 2012/2013 her poetry has appeared locally in the Peter F. Yacht Club, & In/Words Magazine (as well as three chapbooks with above/ground press) & in literary magazines in Windsor, Calgary, Toronto, the UK, France, the USA and Australia. For more info, please visit amandaearl.com or connect with Amanda on Twitter @KikiFolle.

Brecken Hancock’s [pictured] poetry, essays, interviews, and reviews have appeared in Riddle Fence, Event, CV2, Grain, and Studies in Canadian Literature. She is Reviews Editor for Arc Poetry Magazine and Interviews Editor for Canadian Women in the Literary Arts. The Art of Plumbing, her most recent chapbook, is out with above/ground press and her first full-length manuscript of poems, Broom Broom, is forthcoming with Coach House Books. She lives and walks dogs in Ottawa.

David O'Meara lives in Ottawa, Ontario. He is the author of three collections of poetry, including most recently A Pretty Sight (Coach House Books, 2013), and a play, Disaster, nominated for four Rideau Awards. His poetry has been shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Award, the ReLit Award, the Trillium Book Award, a National Magazine Award, and he has won the Archibald Lampman Award twice. He is the director of the Plan 99 Reading Series, Artistic Director of VERSeFest (www.versefest.ca) and was the Canadian judge for the 2012 Griffin Poetry Prize.

Most of the talks in this series subsequently appear online in seventeen seconds: a journal of poetry and poetics, including previous talks by Monty Reid, Marcus McCann, Barry McKinnon, Cameron Anstee, Pearl Pirie, Gil McElroy and Nicole Markotić.

some author activity: Anstee, Graham, Poe + mclennan,

A recording of a reading Cameron Anstee did at Raw Sugar Cafe as part of a recent mini-tour was recently posted online (alongside Michael e. Casteels, Christine Miscione and Nicholas Papaxanthos); Lea Graham has a whole slew of new poems (including some epistolary piecces for the late Robert Kroetsch) up at ditch: the poetry that matters; Deborah Poe has a new poem posted as part of dusie's Tuesday poem series; and rob mclennan has a new little poem up on Halvard Johnson's On Barcelona.

Cameron Anstee reads with Casteels, Miscione + Papaxanthos in Ottawa, August 10, 2013

above/ground press author Cameron Anstee reads in Ottawa at Raw Sugar Cafe [see the facebook event here], lovingly hosted by Michael e. Casteels. As the event reads:

On Saturday, August 10, Raw Sugar (692 Somerset St. W.) will be hosting an afternoon of poetry and fiction. There will be books for sale and writers to point at and say “Hey, do I know you?” or “My brother’s a writer!” or “I like your use of semi-colons” or “Do you know where I can find the nearest pub? I thought there’d be wrestling here tonight.”

BUT SERIOUSLY: It'll be a great afternoon of literature and we hope all of you can come. Bring a friend or two -- the more the merrier!

Cameron Anstee lives and writes in Ottawa ON where he runs Apt. 9 Press and is pursuing a PhD in English Literature at the University of Ottawa.

Christine Miscione is a Canadian fiction writer. Her work has appeared in various Canadian publications, such as Exile: The Literary Quarterly, This Magazine, and The Puritan. In 2011, she was the recipient of the Hamilton Arts Award for Best Emerging Writer. In 2012, Christine’s story, Skin Just, won first place in the Gloria Vanderbilt/Exile Editions C.V.C Short Fiction Contest (emerging writer category). Her debut short story collection, Auxiliary Skins, will be released August 2013. Find her at christinemiscione.wordpress.com/

Michael e. Casteels has self-published over a dozen chapbooks of poetry and artwork. His poetry has also appeared in: 529 (Proper Tales Press), Sterling Magazine, In/Words, and That Not Forgotten (Hidden Brook Press). He has work forthcoming in The Rusty Toque. He was nominated for the emerging artist award in the 2012 Premier's Awards for Excellence in the Arts. He lives in Kingston, Ontario where he runs Puddles of Sky Press. Check out Puddles of Sky Press at puddlesofskypress.com.

Nicholas Papaxanthos is currently living in Montreal, pursuing an MA with a focus in creative writing at Concordia University. He recently put together the chapbook Teeth, Untucked with Proper Tales Press, and has been published in the anthologies Lake Effect 5 and 529, as well as in The New Chief Tongue 10, Sandwich Review, and This Magazine.

Raw Sugar Cafe
692 Somerset W., Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6P4
Saturday, August 10, 2013; 2:00pm until 5:00pm