some author activity: Berlatsky, Archer, Solomon, Ladouceur, Robinson + Smith,

Noah Berlatsky has a new poem up at smols; Sacha Archer and Misha Solomon have work up at long con magazine; Ben Ladouceur is interviewed by Jasper Fleming for EVENT magazine; Elizabeth Robinson has new work up at autocorrect; and Steven Ross Smith has posted a new word-music collaboration with renowned double bass jazz musician Neil Swainson over at bandcamp.

new from above/ground press: Words and Image / Entre mots et images, eds./dir. David O’Meara and/et Véronique Sylvain

Words and Image / Entre mots et images
eds./dir. David O’Meara and/et Véronique Sylvain
translations by/traductions de Myriam Legault-Beauregard
$10

including new poems in English (alongside French translation) and new poems in French (alongside English translation) by:

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm 

Stephen Brockwell

Margaret Michèle Cook 

Catherine Couture

Sonia-Sophie Courdeau

Leslie Roach

Bardia Sinaee

Michel Thérien

Introduction

We love the intersection of art practices and what is generated through dialogue. One expression of thought, when translated, via another medium, can transform into a third truth. In this way, overlap develops a further aura of meaning. Ekphrastic poetry—the written response to visual art—is one version of this vital collaboration. We asked eight Ottawa poets to look again at the rich, extraordinary permanent collection on display at the Ottawa Art Gallery to create a conversation of thought and feeling that the experience of art-viewing engenders. We hope you will join and enjoy it.

Introduction

Nous adorons les croisements entre les pratiques artistiques et ce que génèrent les dialogues. Une pensée exprimée, traduite dans une nouvelle discipline, peut se transformer en une troisième vérité. Ainsi, les recoupements font naître un nouvel horizon de significations. La poésie ekphrastique – une réponse écrite à l’art visuel – est une version de cette collaboration essentielle. Nous avons demandé à huit poètes d’Ottawa de jeter un nouveau regard sur la riche et extraordinaire collection permanente de la Galerie d’art d’Ottawa afin de créer une conversation entre les idées et les émotions que fait naître l’observation d’œuvres d’art. Nous espérons que vous vous joindrez à nous pour l’apprécier.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
January 2026
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
produced for an event at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 5pm

Author biographies/Notices biographiques:

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, from the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Saugeen Ojibway Nation, is a poet, spoken-word artist, Indigenous arts activist, assistant professor, and the publisher, art director, senior editor, and founder of Kegedonce Press. She is the recipient of the 2025 Ivy Award.

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, de la Première Nation Chippewas of Nawash Unceded et de la Nation Saugeen Ojibway, est poète, artiste de la parole, militante en arts autochtones et professeure adjointe, en plus de cumuler les rôles d’éditrice, de directrice artistique et de réviseure principale aux éditions Kegedonce Press, dont elle est aussi la fondatrice. Elle est la lauréate de l’Ivy Award 2025.

Stephen Brockwell is the author of seven collections of poetry, including All of Us Reticent, Here, Together (winner of the Archibald Lampman Award) and most recently, Immune to the Sacred (2022).

Stephen Brockwell est l’auteur de sept recueils de poèmes, dont All of Us Reticent, Here, Together (lauréat du Archibald Lampman Award) et, plus récemment, Immune to the Sacred (2022).

Margaret Michèle Cook a publié neuf livres de poésie aux Éditions du Nordir, de l’Interligne et Malaïka. Elle a aussi occupé la fonction de Poète lauréate de la Ville d’Ottawa entre 2019 et 2021. Son recueil Chronos à sa table de travail a remporté le Prix du livre d’Ottawa en 2009.

Margaret Michèle Cook is the author of nine poetry books published by the Éditions du Nordir, L’Interligne et Malaïka. She was also appointed Ottawa Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2021. Her collection Chronos à sa table de travail won the Ottawa Book Award in 2009.

Catherine Couture, originaire de Lévis et désormais installée à Ottawa, est traductrice de profession. Elle tisse ses poèmes de sororité et de maternité, à défaut de manier le fil et l’aiguille. Avant Ève est le premier de ses poèmes à avoir été publié.

Catherine Couture, originally from Lévis and now living in Ottawa, is a professional translator. For lack of threads and needles, she weaves her poems with sorority and maternity. Before Eve is her first published poem.

Originaire du nord de l’Ontario, Sonia-Sophie Courdeau a signé trois recueils de poésie dont À tire d’ailes (Prix Trillium 2012). En 2019, après avoir terminé une maîtrise en création, elle fonde sa propre entreprise afin d’aider des femmes à se transformer par les mots. Maman depuis 2023, elle travaille actuellement sur un quatrième recueil de poésie inspiré de ses défis émotionnels sur le chemin de la maternité.

Originally from northern Ontario, Sonia-Sophie Courdeau is the author of three poetry collections, including À tire d’ailes (Prix Trillium 2012). In 2019, after completing her master’s degree in creation, she started her own company to help women transform thanks to words. Becoming a mother in 2023, she now works on a fourth collection inspired by the emotional challenges she faces in her journey through maternity.

Leslie Roach is a poet, writer and lawyer based in Ottawa; she was born and raised in Montreal. Her debut collection of poetry, Finish this Sentence, was published by Mawenzi House and listed by CBC as a “Canadian Poetry Collection to Watch” and as a “Book to Read for Emancipation Day”.

Leslie Roach est une poète et avocate établie à Ottawa; elle est née et a grandi à Montréal. Son premier recueil de poèmes, Finish this Sentence a été publié chez Mawenzi House et a été recommandé par la CBC parmi les recueils de poésie canadienne à surveiller et les livres à lire en vue du Jour de l’émancipation.

Bardia Sinaee is the author of the poetry collection Intruder (2021) and a new chapbook, Flinch. He lives in Ottawa.

Bardia Sinaee est l’auteur du recueil de poèmes Intruder (2021) et d’un nouveau recueil court (chapbook) intitulé Flinch. Il vit à Ottawa. 

Né à Ottawa, Michel Thérien consacre son temps à l’écriture et à la promotion de la poésie. Plusieurs de ses livres ont été traduits et ont reçu divers prix et reconnaissances. Il a publié onze recueils et co-dirigé un collectif de poésie. 

Born in Ottawa, Michel Thérien devotes his time to writing and promoting poetry. Several of his books have been translated and have won various awards and marks of recognition. He is the author of eleven collections and the co-director of a collective book of poems.

David O’Meara is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently A Pretty Sight and Masses On Radar (Coach House Books, 2013, 2021). His novel, Chandelier, is published by Nightwood Editions (2024). He is the current Poet Laureate (Anglophone) of the City of Ottawa.

David O’Meara est l’auteur de cinq recueils de poésie, dont les plus récents sont A Pretty Sight et On Radar (Coach House Books, 2013 et 2021). Son roman, intitulé Chandelier, a été publié chez Nightwood Editions en 2024. Il est actuellement le poète officiel anglophone de la Ville d'Ottawa.

Véronique Sylvain habite à Ottawa, où elle travaille dans le milieu de l’édition. Ses poèmes ont paru dans plusieurs revues de creation littéraire, ainsi que des collectifs. Son premier Trillium, le Prix du livre d’Ottawa, en 2020, le prix Champlain et le Prix littéraire émergence Incueil, Premier quart (Prise de parole, 2019), lui a permis de remporter le Prix de poésie AAOF 2021. Son plus récent recueil de poésie, En terrain miné, est paru en septembre 2024 chez Prise de parole. Elle occupera, jusqu’à l’automne 2026, le poste de poète officielle francophone de la Ville d’Ottawa.

Véronique Sylvain lives in Ottawa, where she works in the publishing sector. Her poems appear in several literary journals and collectives. Thanks to her first collection, Premier quart (Prise de parole, 2019), she was rewarded with the Prix de poésie Trillium and the Prix du livre d'Ottawa, in 2020, as well as the prix Champlain and the Prix littéraire émergence AAOF, in 2021. Her most recent collection, En terrain miné, also published by Prise de parole, was launched in September 2024, She will be, until fall 2026, the Francophone Poet Laureate of the City of Ottawa.

Myriam Legault-Beauregard is a teacher, a literary translator, a poet and a spoken-word artist. She is also currently completing her PhD at the University of Ottawa. Her own works and shorter translations have been published in various magazines and journals, and her first poetry collection, Comme un myosotis, was launched in September 2023. Her first book-length translation, De plâtre et de platine (French version of Shashi Bhat’s The Most Precious Substance on Earth), was a finalist to the John-Glassco prize in the fall of 2024. She lives in Gatineau, Québec, with her partner and their two children. 

Myriam Legault-Beauregard enseigne et traduit des œuvres littéraires, en plus d’écrire et de déclamer sa propre poésie. Elle termine actuellement un doctorat à l’Université d’Ottawa. Ses créations et traductions ont été publiées dans diverses revues, et son premier recueil de poésie, Comme un myosotis, est paru en septembre 2023. Sa première traduction de roman, De plâtre et de platine (version française de The Most Precious Substance on Earth de Shashi Bhat) a été finaliste au prix John-Glassco en 2024. Elle vit à Gatineau avec son conjoint et leurs deux filles.

This is O’Meara and Sylvain’s second edited collaboration through above/ground press, after Verse on the Banks / Poèmes sur le rivage (2025).

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: AN ACCELERATION & A CALM / A SHEAF BY THE LATE P. M. SAMSON / COMMENTARY BY BARNARD SWALLOW, by Jon Cone and K.Lipschutz

AN ACCELERATION & A CALM / A SHEAF BY THE LATE P. M. SAMSON / COMMENTARY BY BARNARD SWALLOW
A SHEAF BY THE LATE P. M. SAMSON
COMMENTARY BY BARNARD SWALLOW
devised by Jon Cone and K.Lipschutz
$6

KINDERGARTEN MEMOIR 

Sky, light, a ton of snow.
Time to get, time to go.  
Father has his large coat on.  
Mother has her plaid.  

Orange Crush can 
on a stool, spinning at the counter. 
Milkman Anchorman Linebackerman.
Hold my hand, but only till the corner.

              (-_-)

Fire drill, fire plug, fire escape.
Where’d you put the dog?  
My truck, not your truck.
Barking in the fog.

My friend, not your friend. 
The flag halloos the wind.
Flags fly in place. 
Is a flag a hummingbird?

              (-_-)

Pie-eyed May Day in the deep dish bath.
“Pie-face! Pie-face!” down the garden path.
Easter picnic eggshells know
how dumb it is to have a sister.

Father flies to Houston. Armadillo 
sounds like Old Man Karl’s goiter feels. 
Grace, a neighbor. Grace, before.
Corned beef hash for dinner. 



░ ░ ░

COMMENTARY

A child of the North plays pick-up sticks with the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of his inception. The particulars do not shock, yet the reader is by subtle means advised to buckle up in the backseat and take in the passage of time. That chestnut of Creeley’s containing the rare line in a poem that leant itself to the name to a movie comes to mind. Ultimately, the specificity of the main course evokes a nostalgia infiltrating the sequence as it shifts into gear.

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

Cover Photo: Colette Jappy

P. M. SAMSON was considered the backbone of the Creative Writing Department at OSU from 1978 until his untimely death in 2021. He published sparingly but left a trove of writings just now beginning to see the light of day thanks to Buckeye Press, an imprint of Kenyon College. Among his contemporaries, he was closest with Baron Wormser and John Hollander, both of whom championed his work. The autobiographical sheaf presented has been termed “a revelation” by no less than William Logan, éminence grise of the University of Florida. Oddly, the historical details in the sheaf bear scant relation to the known facts of Samson’s life.

BARNARD SWALLOW holds advanced degrees. His criticism has been published widely. He is the authorized biographer of Baron Wormser (literary executor of P. M. Samson’s estate). Swallow appears sporadically in the TLS, contributing light verse under his “Saturday-night-and-Sunday morning moniker” Bunny Jean Swallow. An avid football fan, he is also the editor of Them That’s Hired and Them That’s Fired Up: Selected Correspondence by legendary coach Bum Phillips (LSU Press).

JON CONE, born in Charfield, England, is a Canadian writer who lives in Iowa. He attended the University of Western Ontario for undergraduate and graduate degrees, and later Vermont College of Fine Arts. His numerous published works include New Year Begun: Selected Poems (2022), Liminal: Shadow Agent, pts 1 & 2 (2021), Family Portrait with Two Dogs Bleeding (2009). From 1991 to 1998, he edited the international review World Letter (Iowa City). 

K.LIPSCHUTZ (formerly klipschutz) is the author of eight collections, including This Drawn & Quartered Moon (Anvil Press, Vancouver, BC, 2013), Twilight of the Male Ego (2002), and The Erection of Scaffolding for the Re-Painting of Heaven by the Lowest Bidder (1985). He has co-written approximately 120 songs released by Chuck Prophet, including eight on Wake the Dead. (Oct. 2024). In addition to this book, the two have collaborated on the manuscript Conversations about Cats and the full-length play Beckett and Borges Work It On Out (currently unproduced).

This is Jon Cone's second title with above/ground press, after Against Perfectionism & other poems (2025).

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: Inventions, by Robert van Vliet

inventions
Robert van Vliet
$6

Sometimes we expect a window, and find a mirror. Is that supposed to be the pond? And where’s the maple? Equally bewildering is when we expect a mirror but are looking out a window. What a leafy face I have.

                                                dark music
                                          scrawled on wood

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

Robert van Vliet grew up in the Twin Cities and spent many years living in lots of other places. He has been, among other things, a process manager, a singer/songwriter, a repair technician for Macintosh computers, and a typographer. He is currently a high school English teacher. His poetry has appeared in The Sixth Chamber Review, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Guesthouse, Otoliths, and elsewhere. He has a website at robertvanvliet.com and a blog at letterspace.org. His first book of poetry, Vessels, was published by Unsolicited Press in 2024. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, Ana.

This is van Vliet’s second above/ground press chapbook, after This Folded Path (2023).

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: Bell, Boyle, Reid, Betts, Gordon + Ross,

Wade Bell has new work up at Public Reverie; Frances Boyle has two poems in the latest issue of Pinhole Poetry, where Monty Reid also has new work; Gregory Betts appears in the Canadian Poets Series over at Peripety and/or Tronies; Nada Gordon is featured in the Spotlight series; and Stuart Ross has four poems up at Relegation Books.

new from above/ground press: TWO, by Rose Maloukis

TWO
Rose Maloukis
$6

In each body a thick line        
rides across the middle        
separates their upper 
and lower, a division or 
a strength of opposites
and I wonder why
two arrived

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

Poetry by Rose Maloukis has been shortlisted for the Montreal International Poetry Prize, has won prizes from both Geist and ARC, and been published in The Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly, Vallum, and others. Her poetry also appears in various collaborative and solo chapbooks. Rose grew up in the U.S., has dual citizenship, and makes her permanent home in Montreal.

This is Rose Maloukis’ second title with above/ground press, after Cloud Game with Plums (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

new from above/ground press: Towards A Poetry Of Tentative / Notes from a stalled art project, by Grant Wilkins

Towards A Poetry Of <something> Tentative / Notes from a stalled art project
Grant Wilkins
$6

Light


The light   of the Moon          clear   and familiar
mystical   dogma          double-edged   Cross
faithful   commitment         expression   in circles
Romantic   conviction          written   as loss

language   opacity          held   in communion
historical   origins          of Infinite   Man
memorably   moonlit          leitmotif   paintings
performed    in an epoch          where Art   failed to stand

jargon   and    cant          the theories   inferred
circling   the horns          Cornucopia’s   right
language   and history          damned   as a mystery
on religion’s   poetics          the corpses   alight

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

Front cover art: Untitled, by Marije Bijl. Marije and her work can be found at: http://marijebijl.com.

Grant Wilkins is an occasional poet, printer and papermaker who has made a practice of doing strange things to other people’s words. He has degrees in History & Classical Civilization and in English, and he’s working on another one in Art History. He lives in Ottawa on the unceded and unsurrendered land of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people.

This is Wilkins’ fifth chapbook with above/ground press, after Reading The Great Classics Of Canlit through Book 5 of bpNichol’s The Martyrology (2022), In Which Archibald Lampman / Translates Arthur Rimbaud (2023), The Baroness and her Ex Read Orgasmic Toast: To Whom It May Concern (2023) and Poetic Constructions: Poems written for the Enriched Bread Artists’ 2020 Open Studio (2023).

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