CKCU Interview, Small Press Book Fair

Writer’s Fest may have just ended but, to literary supporters in the Ottawa area, this weekend represents another flurry of activity. Alongside the launch of Bywords Quarterly Journal’s fall publication on Sunday, the writers featured in that latest volume – Carol A. Stephen, Jean Van Loon and myself – will be interviewed alongside poet/Bywords' managing editor Amanda Earl on CKCU’s radio program Studio 1402 this Friday, November 4th at 8:30am. There might be time for each poet to read one or two of their Bywords’ selections as well, so check it out.


If, between those two Bywords-related events, you thought Saturday might offer a chance for this city’s literary novices and giants to sleep, you’d be forgetting Ottawa’s Small Press Book Fair. On the eve of that event, recent John Newlove Award-winner rob mclellan will host a pre-Small Press Book Fair reading and, on the Saturday, lovers of the written word will find themselves surrounded by some of the best small presses and literary magazines in Canada.


After attending the Spring 2011 edition, I planned to have my collection finished and a half-table to place it upon by the time this weekend arrived. It was a lofty goal that paid no mind to the countless hours I’d end up working and wedding planning this summer. All excuses aside, my current poetry collection continues to grow and shape itself. Next spring, perhaps, I'll participate in more ways than as a keen customer.