There have been a couple of Canadian publications I’ve been trying to get into for a while and it just so happens both accepted a poem of mine within a month of each other. Coincidence or luck? Perhaps a bit of both.

Juniper is an online poetry journal based in Toronto, publishing three issues a year since 2017 and edited by Lisa Young. I find much of the work has a haunting quality about it, with a focus on place and connection, and it’s here I discovered the stunning poetry of Ayehsa Chatterjee and Lorna Crozier, both Canadian with several collections between them. My poem, ‘Earth turn‘, is in the current issue alongside many fine others and interestingly required little editing.

Arc Poetry Magazine has been running for a number of years with its 100th issue up next, which will celebrate previous work through the curation of new in the form of ekphrasis. Publishing a diverse variety of poetry and art, it’s an eclectic read and my poem, ‘Weathering’, responds to a piece by Winnie Truong, a Toronto-based artist who renders exquisite work. This will be my first published ekphrastic poem, so I’m excited it’s appearing in such a prestigious magazine.

And then of course there’s Margaret Atwood with her extensive repertoire, whose latest collection Dearly I’ve yet to read, but whose outlook on life and work I find fascinating having listened to many of her interviews and readings. Anne Carson and Rupi Kaur are also Canadian, but whose work I’m currently unfamiliar with.

Visiting Canada is on my to do list. With its spectacular landscape, perhaps it’s easy to see why there’s a plethora of brilliance flowing from there.