some author activity: Coulton, Aube, Kaplan, mclennan, Hausner + Unsworth,

Valerie Coulton has a new poem at the arts fuse; Gwen Aube is announced as one of the 2026 Writers-in-Residence at the Al Purdy A-Frame; both Genevieve Kaplan and rob mclennan have new work up at Posit; Beatriz Hausner has a poem in Paul Vermeersch's "In the Third Sleep" series; and Lydia Unsworth is interviewed by rob mclennan to help promote her upcoming participation in VERSeFest: Ottawa's International Poetry Festival.

new from above/ground press: The Last Man, by Ben Ladouceur

The Last Man
Ben Ladouceur
$6

Before

Mothers raised children like beets from the ground.
It was always quiet and appropriate to cry.
Cain groped his brother’s blood red bones

and said the first word ever, which was Oops. Stones spoke.
Crowds gathered. Sleep came easily. Men sold gold. A fisher
ate a lobster and went Oh my goodness, not bad. Goodness

being thought of as a thing you could hold
and call yours, how the wick holds the light and says Wick.
How that light holds the hot out in every direction

saying Light. It was really windy. People died younger.
A young king employed a swift look to encourage
his guy on the side to go back to sleep. The bright was just

a dawn, he said, like any dawn. The sigh the asleep
man released had an oxygen atom in common
with every breath that you have ever drawn.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
September 2025
to mark the occasion of Ladouceur's appointment as Writer-in-Residence for the Winter 2026 semester, Department of English, University of Ottawa
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Ben Ladouceur has received the Thomas Morton for Fiction, the National Magazine Award (Gold) for Poetry, the Archibald Lampman Award, the Writers’ Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize, the Gerald Lampert Memorial Prize, the Earle Birney Prize, and a writer’s residency at the Al Purdy A-Frame. He is the author of the novel I Remember Lights (2025), the poetry collections Otter (2015) and Mad Long Emotion (2019), and nine previous chapbooks, including the above/ground press title Lime Kiln Quay Road (2011) which was nominated for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. He lives in Ottawa.

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

new from above/ground press: Spectral Arcs, by ryan fitzpatrick

Spectral Arcs
ryan fitzpatrick
$5

DODO
(Raphus cucullatus)

Nothing vanishes, is gone ever. One might believe that there is nothing new under the sun, but something briefly flickers in and out of sight. Eyewitness accounts doctor a cooling account of the world left strewn like magnetic tape spooled out. One might build a shell from a hail of gunfire or hide behind the charred folly of the law. One might fall asleep. Shooting bison from a train window, one collects but a range of ghosts, faint in the way one might think of drainage.

There are trees cut down in worship of the stump. There are bands of iron and bronze that turn dates forward, hanging from the stump of a mast. In a green dawn, one must commune with more than one’s eyes passing over the ghost shape of a tree. In an object dawn, one must retain one’s coat of arms with the faintness of two smouldering stumps to measure the temples of God. One must stare into tamer versions of the sun where soft light denies the mythological.

It is loathsome, when the weight one must shovel reappears as shit. Each channel is a fraud of water. Each season a two-note sound. One must stretch and train each procedure and checklist to conform one’s self. How much energy does one have? How does one gather? Don’t be discouraged by the lack of answers, since one can train the eye to locate everything.

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

ryan fitzpatrick is the author of four books of poetry, including the recent Sunny Ways (Invisible, 2023) and Coast Mountain Foot (Talonbooks, 2021). Their first non-fiction book Ace Theory, a book-length essay in fragments about asexuality, will be published by Book*Hug Press in 2025. They are the 2024-25 Writer-in-Residence in the University of Alberta’s Department of English and Film Studies.

This is fitzpatrick’s fifth above/ground press title, after STANZAS #25 (“further revisions,” July 2001), Adolesce (2005), dealingwithit.gif (2015) and Dang Me (2020). Report from the fitzgerald Society, Vol 1. No. 1, appeared in 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

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.

Some author activity: Boyle, Spinosa, Barwin + mclennan,

Frances Boyle is interviewed on the Big Little Books podcast, and has a new short story up at The /tƐmz/ Review; Dani Spinosa has a new visual poem up at Train : a poetry journal; Gary Barwin posts the text of a talk he recently gave as part of his writer-in-residence gig at Wilfrid Laurier University; and rob mclennan has a new poem upon his enormously clever blog.

some author activity: Hall, Landman, mclennan, Gray + Townsend,

University of New Brunswick writer-in-residence Phil Hall is written up in in the brunswickan; Seth Landman has a poem up in the "Tuesday poem" series over at the dusie blog; rob mclennan answers the "12 or 20 questions," via Vallum magazine, and has a new poem up at his clever blog; forthcoming author Evan Gray has an essay in the "my (small press) writing day" series; and Jamie Townsend has new work in the second issue of baest : a journal of queer forms & affects.

some author activity: beaulieu, Anstee, Lea, Tokar, Cooley + Press,

derek beaulieu (pictured) is named the first artist in residence in the 124-year history of Calgary's Lougheed House, from May 1 to June 30, 2015; Cameron Anstee is profiled over at Apt 613; N.W. Lea is interviewed over at the Chaudiere Books blog; Janice Tokar has a new poem posted on the Chaudiere Books blog as part of Poetry Month; and Dennis Cooley and K.I. Press write on Turnstone Press for the CV2 blog.

derek beaulieu: Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts Artist-in-Residence

Calgary poet laureate derek beaulieu has been named the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at Calgary's Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts. Congratulations derek!

The residency begins tomorrow and runs through October 24, 2014. He plans to be "working on a series of text-art pieces and hosting a number of events."

See his blog post describing further details, here.

Brecken Hancock: Open Book: Toronto's July writer-in-residence

Ottawa poet and above/ground press author Brecken Hancock is Open Book: Toronto's July writer-in-residence! Her first post, "Our lives of no interest: The compulsion to confess," is now online, and you can keep track of her activity throughout the month here. Well done, Brecken!

some author activity: Tucker, mclennan, McElroy, Anstee, Hawkins + Barwin,

Aaron Tucker has a couple of new poems up at Moss Trill, as does rob mclennan; mclennan is interviewed over at 'poets touching trees'; Gil McElroy has a new poem posted as part of the "Tuesday poem" series at the dusie blog; Cameron Anstee posted this bibliography of Ottawa poet William Hawkins, for the sake of Hawkins' recent seventy-fourth birthday; and Gary Barwin was recently announced as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Western Ontario for the 2014-15 academic year. Congratulations, Gary!

Barry McKinnon: TCR Writer-in-Residence (Vancouver) | Fall 2012

The Capilano Review is thrilled to announce that poet Barry McKinnon will be in residence Nov 5-16, 2012.During his residency at Capilano University, Barry will give a talk on Friday, November 9 at 11:30am in Cedar 148 and a reading on Thursday, November 15 at 11:30am in Library 322.  As writer-in-residence, he is available for onsite manuscript  consultations.  Contact the TCR office to schedule an appointment: tcr@capilanou.ca or 604-984-1712.  Also watch for Barry's blog posts in Fall 2012.

Click here for information on his most recent title, Into the Blind World (above/ground press, 2012), and here for another section of the same poem, posted online on TRUCK.

Cameron Anstee reads with David O'Meara and 2012 University of Ottawa writer-in-residence, André Alexis, Thursday, November 1st, 2012

From the University of Ottawa English Department website: 

The Department of English in conjunction with the Ottawa Art Gallery will be hosting a reading and reception featuring our 2012 writer-in-residence, André Alexis, as well as award-winning Ottawa poet David O’Meara and PhD student/small press publisher Cameron Anstee. Join us at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Arts Court, on Thursday November 1st at 7:30 pm.

Cameron Anstee has published two poetry chapbooks with above/ground press -- Frank St. (2010) and Regarding Renewal (2012) -- both of which are still available.