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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.
Thrilled to be in the first issue of this journal. In fab company too 😊
I’ve recently discovered a series of interviews with poets in The Paris Review through one of my poetry groups and what a find it’s proving to be.
The Paris Review is a quarterly journal out of New York all about the arts – be it poetry, memoir, fiction, photography, film, painting, theatre – anything creative they’ve got it covered.
With the first chatting to T.S. Eliot in 1959, The Art of Poetry interviews provide an invaluable insight into some of the world’s finest poets – A.R. Ammons, Elizabeth Bishop, Billy Collins, Allen Ginsberg, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, W.S. Merwin, Marianne Moore, Les Murray, Robert Pinsky, Anne Sexton to name a few.
An interview to stand out was with Henri Cole, a Boston-based poet who’s published eight books of poetry to date with the next out shortly. Cole describes himself as an autobiographical poet finding pleasure ‘from assembling language into art’ and believes a poem is something to be made. When not writing, Cole maintains an ideas envelope – snippets of thoughts, lines, images, overheard conversation – essentially an array of prompts to help him ‘when he sits down cold.’
Which has inspired me to start one of my own for the new year, so best get to it.
Wordgathering is an online journal of disability poetry, literature and art published quarterly, in which I’m thrilled to have a poem this quarter.
Founded in March 2007 by members of the Inglis House Poetry Workshop, the journal promotes the work of writers with disability and aims to develop a rich source for those interested in disability literature. And Michael Northern, editor in chief, has done an amazing job of producing another enthralling read.
I have endometriosis and mild scoliosis, therefore pain management for both is paramount, which is what attracted me to Daniel Sluman’s Poetry of Pain Workshop hosted through The Poetry School. This is where my poem ‘Extramarital bliss’ originated, and was developed following an online feedback session facilitated by Daniel, a fantastic poet who also signposted this journal.
Disability literature is growing, and writing about its impact and associated pain can be extremely cathartic, because the challenge is being able to express something in words that takes your breath away.
At the beginning of the year, I reviewed my subscriptions to journals and magazines to make sure I’m getting as broad a spectrum of contemporary poetry as possible. A new addition is Tincture Journal.
The journal is edited by Daniel Young, also the founder, and is published quarterly as an e-book showcasing work of both established and new voices in fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Stuart Barnes is the poetry editor, who I was thrilled to hear from after he selected my poem ‘Bordertown’ to appear in the current issue.
It’s true what they say – read a copy of the publication you’re submitting to – and having purchased an issue and finding brilliant work from the likes of Kathryn Hummel and Heather Taylor Johnson, I wanted to join them. And have 🙂
I would recommend a subscription to Tincture. It offers a unique cost-effective way to read the journal, which delivers a wide range of thought-provoking work, a finger on the literary pulse of now.
J V Birch 