The idea behind the Poets Series is to paint portraits of living poets and let each poet pick the next as a practice of praco-poesis. More simply put, I hoped to create a round robin of poets. I began this work by crowd sourcing poets to begin each branch. I asked the poets who were picked if I could paint a portrait of them, and if they wouldn’t mind selecting the next poet to add to the series. The response has been astounding. As the beginning poets included other poets, and the archive began to grow, branch by branch into an amazing narrative of contemporary poetry. The Poets Series is a celebration of the complex tangle of living poets that belong to a loose archive.
She has just set up a website with information about the series, images of completed and in-progress paintings, as well as giclee prints for sale. My portrait is based on a photograph that my partner Jenn took while we were in New York City in Spring 2014. I’m really astonished by the whole thing. What a strange thing to have a portrait, and even stranger to see it in the company of the people it is in the company of (I must be the only poet in the bunch without a trade book). Thanks to Melanie, and thanks to Nelson Ball for adding my name to the archive! I can’t wait to see it grow.
Two new minimalist poems of mine appeared in the world in the last 24 hours (Happy National Poetry Month!). The first, “Refrain”, was done up in a beautiful little single-poem chapbook by Michael e. Casteels through his Puddles of Sky Press (Kingston ON). It is available on its own for $2.00, but you will get it for free if you place an order of $15.00 or more for other Puddles of Sky stuff (spend $30.00 and you’ll also get chapbook-poems by Marilyn Irwin and Stuart Ross!). I’m a huge fan of Michael’s publishing work (and writing), and can’t say enough how happy I am to be a part of this series. You can and should spend $15.00 to support what he does, so take a look around. If you don’t already have them, I would recommend buying back issues of his mag illiterature.
The other poem, “Thrum”, is on page 9 of the brand new issue 11 of NOON: journal of the short poem. I always love to read NOON when it appears, and I’m really delighted to finally have a little poem in its pages.
rob mclennan was inducted into the VerseFestHall of Honour last night here in Ottawa in recognition of his long service to the poetry community as a publisher, editor, organizer of events, ambassador, historian, bibliographer, writer, and a hundred million other roles he has taken on over the years. He has been a great supporter of so many here (and elsewhere), publishing first chapbooks, first books, making first readings happen, putting all those first people beside established people, taking work seriously across a huge range of styles and aesthetics and levels of experience.
Hall of Honour inductees Andree Lacelle and rob mclennan. Photo by Pearl Pirie.
On first meeting rob sometime around 2006, when I was a very young poet among other very young poets at Carleton University, our sense of Ottawa’s community was that everything that happened here seemed to happen through rob. Publishing and reading and whatever else all seems to pass through rob on their ways to existing. As young combative poets we thought that was ridiculous, but for the wrong reasons. For a long time (though this certainly wasn’t true in 2006), rob was often the only one doing things here. He seemed like the only game in town because in a lot of ways and for far too long he was the only game in town, keeping a lot going in Ottawa and keeping Ottawa in touch with a lot going on elsewhere. He has certainly been the only one in Ottawa bothering to do all of this for so long and with such sustained energy. above/ground press is 23 years old now. The Factory Reading series came into the world about the same time. The twice-yearly Ottawa Small Press Book Fair has been his doing since 1994. Chaudiere is the only trade poetry publisher here seriously engaged with the local community. ottawater is our annual online stock-taking of different voices and a great annual reading tradition in the new year, going back twelve years! This barely scratches the surface.
Some above/ground chapbooks with “poem” broadsides.
I have personally benefited enormously from rob’s support. He published two of my chapbooks (and one of those ubiquitous “poem” broadsides) through above/ground; Chaudiere published The Collected Poems of William Hawkins, a book that I edited; I’ve read in the Factory Reading Series a whole pile of times; he has been the most active and visible reviewer or my work and of my little Apt. 9 Press; he has interviewed me all over the place; he passes me books all the time above and beyond my above/ground subscription (and once, many years ago, gifted me an above/ground subscription when I couldn’t afford to keep it going just because he knew that I cared); I’ve been in all kinds of his magazines, in print and online; and he’s been a friend. (Plus, undoubtedly, dozens of other pieces of support that escape me right now.)
My experience above is probably the same as the experience of so many. I really don’t thank rob enough, privately or in public (I doubt many of us do). He has been doing all of this for so long, and seemingly so tirelessly (but he must get tired), that I think that we take him for granted too often.
So rob, congratulations on a very well deserved honour, and thank you. Ottawa is lucky that you’ve stuck around here, and all of your work is appreciated.
I interviewed rob in 2013 to mark the occasion of above/ground press turning 20. I published the interview as a chapbook through Apt. 9 Press. Below is a pdf of the entire thing. While focused primarily on above/ground, we cover a lot of material, connecting the press to other pieces of his small press labour. Despite how much of his work we cover, it still feels incredibly preliminary simply because of how much rob has done.
Following last year’s year-end post, here is a self-centred accounting of 2015 as a doctoral candidate, poet, and publisher.
As of last week, I have now completed drafts of all four chapters of my dissertation on bookselling and the small press in Canada after the Second World War. It is sitting at some 200 pages and 60,000+ words. There is a long way to go yet, but there is something to work with anyway. I published an article at Amodern on the Canada Council and the history of funding for poetry readings in Canada. A second article is due back any day now from the printer in the Journal of Canadian Studies / Revue d’études canadiennesabout Raymond Souster and the Contact Poetry Reading Series (1957-1962), a long overdue piece based on my 2009 M.A. research. I also wrote an entry on Contact Press for the forthcoming Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism, set to appear online sometime in 2016 so far as I know. I presented only a single conference paper (on William Hawkins at ACCUTE), instead focusing my energies on the dissertation and teaching responsibilities. 2016 should see extensive revisions on the dissertation with true optimism to submit in September, and hopefully at least one conference paper along the way.
Apt. 9 Press had the great fortune and privilege of publishing new chapbooks by Marilyn Irwin, Lillian Nećakov, Nelson Ball, and Michael e. Casteels, and dragging our wares to book fairs in Ottawa and Toronto. A chapbook is forthcoming in 2016 from Lea Graham, followed by a hiatus for the remainder of the year in order to finish the aforementioned doctoral degree.
Whatever I am forgetting at the moment, I apologize! My great thanks to all of the editors, poets, organizers, students, professors, and supporters along the way that made each of the above possible. I can’t wait to see what happens in 2016!
Oh boy. I’m all full of inarticulate emotions right now reading this piece that Bardia Sinaee wrote. I’ve got an enormous amount of respect for Bardia as a poet, a reader of poetry, a thinker-about of poetry (he’s more articulate than I am). I really can’t believe that he spent this much time and energy reading and rereading these early chapbooks of mine, and then producing this essay. He’s such a force for good in the small press world, and I feel immensely grateful that I have the privilege of being in his sight line here.
I’ll take it (what is certainly the longest and kindest piece of critical writing I’ll ever receive) as a downpayment on the next few decades of hard work. I hope I can produce something good enough to repay Bardia for his generosity here. Thanks, man.
Here he is with Peter Gibbon taking care of the Apt. 9 table at the recent Meet the Presses Indie Literary Market:
Do yourself a favour and buy his most recent chapbook from Anstruther Press before its gone (if it isn’t already).
Watch William Hawkins reading from The Collected Poems of William Hawkins in Ottawa recently (Saturday November 28, The Manx, Ottawa). Reading is the wrong word; he recites his poems from memory, giving an astonishing performance. It is easy to see why Hawkins was such an influential figure in Ottawa when at his most active as a poet and performer. Enjoy!
Melanie Janisse-Barlow is working on what she calls a “growing archive of paintings of poets.” Read about the project at her Kickstarter campaign. Nelson Ball was kind enough to put my name forward as one to follow his, and so, strangely, there will be a painting of me someday in the far-off future (she has about 80 poets committed so far, and it keeps growing).
I had a handful of poems published in Matrix recently in their “Ottawa Dossier” edited by Jason Christie. I also have a poem in the newest issue of jwcurry’s Industrial Sabotage.
Finally, Chaudiere Books is celebrating the launch of their Fall titles tomorrow afternoon at The Manx in Ottawa, 5:00pm as part of the Ottawa International Writers Festival. Alongside Chris Turnbull, Jennifer Londry, and Andy Weaver, there will be a further reading from The Collected Poems of William Hawkins. Bill will hopefully be present to read, but I will step in if he can’t make it. Should be a good one!
One year ago today, I was excited and lucky to be starting a five-day poetry reading tour with Jesslyn Gagno, Jeff Blackman, Justin Million, and Rachael Simpson. We read in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Peterborough (and later Kingston). Apt. 9 published its first book with a spine to coincide with the tour, and today, to mark the one year-anniversary, that book is on sale for 50% off ($10.00 down from $20.00). It’ll be on sale October 11-15, the original five days of the tour. If you missed it the first time around, or just feel like buying a backup copy (or three), this is a good time do it! Thanks once again to all in the Accord, to our families for putting up with our extended absence over the Thanksgiving weekend, and to all that helped make the tour possible. #itallhappened#oneyearago
I’ll be on Literary Landscape on CKCU tomorrow evening speaking to Pearl Pirie about a number of things I have on the go with Apt. 9 Press and my own writing. I’m looking forward to it. CKCU is great at putting programs up for on demand streaming following the show, so you’ll be able to listen live here (or at 93.1 on your radio), and listen not-live here. Show runs Thursdays at 6:30pm.
I’m reading in the Factory Reading Series on Friday September 25 at the Carleton Tavern, alongside Ryan Pratt, Monty Reid, and Roland Prevost. Doors at 7:00pm, readings at 7:30pm. above/ground press is kindly producing a poem broadside by me to mark the occasion. I’m looking forward to reading beside Ryan, Monty, and Roland, and to see anyone that is able to make it out.
My chapbook from Baseline Press is nearly an object in the world. It is launching on Thursday October 22 at The Supermarket in Toronto, and Friday October 23 at the London Music Club in London. I’ll be present and reading in Toronto, but sadly cannot make London. Hope to see you out, Toronto friends!
Cameron Anstee 