Ongoing notes: early January, 2026: Jed Munson, Nick Hedtke + Leilei Chen,

New year, new beginnings. Our small one changed her hair, for example. She now has bangs. I think she looks like Betty from the Archie Comics, or, as spouse suggests, Tina Yothers’ character from those early days of Family Ties (1982-1989). Whatever happens, Aoife is ready to face the day.

Behind on my chapbook reviewing (as I am behind on all things—behind on more things than can be dreamed of, in your philosophy), so attempting to catch up a bit, here.

Brooklyn NY: I hadn’t heard anything from or by American poet Jed Munson since producing a chapbook of theirs a couple of years back, so it was good to get my hands on Vision Sans Seraphim (Brooklyn NY: Beautiful Days Press, 2025), produced as “Beautiful Days Press #11,” although there have apparently been some other titles I’ve missed as well, including the prose collection Commentary on the Birds (Rescue Press, 2023), and chapbooks Portrait with Parkinson’s (Oxeye Press, 2023) and Minesweeper (New Michigan Press/DIAGRAM, 2023), as well as his prior chapbook, Newsflash Under Fire, Over the Shoulder (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2021). Clearly I am quite behind.

O, I heard the choir’s
          down
a voice again
a visa

bounced
or the voice stopped wanting to 

dream this dream. The pews are filled
with benchwarmers, O 

it’s easy
to go out as a heat
            into any old wind (“Centers”)

Composing an exploratory lyric across love, interiority and elements of faith, Vision San Seraphim is a collection set as three sections, each titled “O”—the first two as clusters of extended lyrics, and closing with the title poem. Munson’s poems are stretched, fragmented and gestural, as each poem-section, as most poems or poem-fragments begin with a gesture, an aside, perhaps, that opening “O.” “O, I don’t know this instrument,” the opening poem, “Centers,” begins, “but I’ve been playing it all morning.” There’s such lovely pacing on these pages, in these lines, one that I wouldn’t mind hearing read/performed, how the gestures of the lyric are clearly set on each page. “O I’m no Lazarus. // I’m just kicking // severed fish tails into / the rails just trying to // slip one through the rails [.]”

America, somewhere: I’m intrigued by Nick Hedtke’s chapbook, THE YEARS, produced “in an undisclosed number of copies” by b l u s h in summer 2025, as part of their “i l l i c i t  z i n e s” series. Beyond the fact that author and publisher both reside in the United States, I can’t seem to find anything any more specific than that, which is fine enough, sure. These thirteen poems are interesting for their pacing, their purposeful movement, offering point, point and then point. With titles including “Recurring Themes,” “John Invents Black & Blue,” “Learning to Fly,” “Album of the Year” and “The Frontier Period,” there’s an intriguing element of how Hedtke utilizes these titles as umbrellas or tethers, providing a kind of anchor across the narrative of each piece, some of which he is also completely allowed to ignore. “the music is fading // but still inspiring,” the poem “Blood Fest 2009” writes, “the way we move // these night moves [.]” Or the poem “Animal Sounds,” that begins: “people were asking if I was okay // that’s the power of blood // I used to have long hair // that’s the feeling of sadness // under a camouflage tent [.]” Hedtke’s directions are both straightforward and slightly curved, providing an almost-surrealism, or even a hint of something else, other. There’s so much else composed in the spaces around these short lines.

American Awesome

I had classic experiences 

my shirt off in bed

hanging off the bed a little bit 

if you put every painting on earth side by side

that would be cool 

like loving an animal in the woods you’ll never see

maximum heart

like a brand-new color

Edmonton AB: One of the latest titles by relatively new Edmonton chapbook publisher Agatha Press is Edmonton poet, translator and professor Leilei Chen’s latest, i give birth to my body (2025), a gracefully-produced title in an edition of one hundred copies. As the author’s foreword begins: “the verses here are the traces of a creative mind, of a chronically ailing body exacerbated by long covid. brain fog. fatigue. palpitation. headache. depression. for one day they’re part of me like a conjoined twin. for another they hit hard like a storm in deep mountains. poetry hums and sings. it comes and stays. spontaneously. i feel its healing power, my heart big with gratitude.” The poems here are concise, working slowly and purposefully through a way to reclaim agency. “this rejuvenating form breaks / free from shackles to save its warm heart,” the title poem closes, “to learn the baby steps of walk / with light strides and a tall spine / striving one day to stand on a cloud / a sailing boat on blue water [.]” Chen’s poems are delicate, finely-honed, moving carefully into and across a territory of reclaiming space, some of which hold elements of the moment, the koan, with other stretches pushing at the boundaries of possibility. These are poems that both take and hold time.

different reactions

trauma is common
our reactions are different 

some hide in the cave and turn dark
pity themselves and resent the world 

some learn its workings and grow wise
create poetry and inspire others

Ongoing notes: mid-May, 2025 : Carlos A. Pittella + Su Croll,

You are keeping track of the above/ground press substack, yes? I mean, I’m not attempting to post there too often, but I am running a new series of author spotlights once a month or so. Who might be number three? And the ottawa small press book fair is but weeks away! And I’m going to keep pushing the above/ground press postal increase sale until you order something(or the sale ends; whichever comes first).

Montreal QC: I was very excited to see Montreal-based poet Carlos A. Pittella’s second poetry chapbook in English, PROPERSITIONS (Montreal QC: Cactus Press, 2025), following his English-language above/ground press debut last summer. I’m appreciating Pittella’s play and sense of line break and rhythm, such as the poem “BETWEEN / IN CASE THEY RUN / YOUR LICENCE PLATE” that begins: “Once I broke my front          tooth / out of a poem & still have the chip / to show—not a great poem but it tasted / like bone it was real I remember / the pain           & the scar-tissue / of writing it that became my face.” There’s such a lovely propulsion to Pittella’s lyrics, one with a stagger and staccato very nicely employed through those line breaks and spaces. Held as a kind of call-and-response, or Greek chorus, there are five “properstitions” poems, numbered via Roman numerals, each with a kind of aside or counterpoint follow-up poem. As the poem “PROPER / SITIONS 1” reads: “I wanted to carve my home mine / with a physical word on the wall & beyond / hope of getting a deposit back / but I wanted my own alphabet since / neither landlord nor family / would understand it anyway. Would you?,” the second poem, “FROM / LATIN, / BIBER,” begins: “beer this verb to be an aftertaste / bitterness my father said / you gotta learn how to love / same as coffee no one likes / at first he thus expounded [.]”

Edmonton AB: It is interesting to see titles by a new Canadian chapbook publisher, Edmonton’s Agatha Press, run by Matthew Stepanic, a press with exquisitely-designed titles in limited edition. The eighth title through the press is Edmonton poet Su Croll’s Fairy-tale logic (2025), an assemblage of poems produced in a numbered edition of one hundred copies. The poems in Fairy-tale logic are composed across familiar fairy tale narratives, but across very different perspectives. “Imagine you are a bad mother.” she offers, to open the poem “Imagine the poison,” “You are an evil step-mother. // Imagine the face in your magic / mirror announces you can grow // younger if you eat your beautiful / step-daughter’s heart // boiled and sprinkled with salt.”

Boast

It was a boast that began this
whole bouleversé world.
The boastful father’s false
claim of his daughter’s skill,
the lie that she could spin
gold from grass or leaves
or straw. The yellow of it
transformed. Transformed.
Yet it was the father
who disappears so completely.
In the end, he was not even
at church to give this golden
package of a bride away
to her new master.

They say old stories take on the purpose and character of the times they are told, the speaker of those stories, and Croll offers her unique take on a history of variations that might never be exhausted. There are multiple examples one can cite over the years through contemporary poetry—from British Columbia poet Ruth Daniell’s The Brightest Thing (Caitlin Press, 2019), to Louisiana poet Lara Glenum’s SNOW (Notre Dame IN: Action Books, 2024) [see my review of such here], Jessica Q. Stark’s Buffalo Girl (Rochester NY: BOA Editions, 2023) [see my review of such here], Katie Fowley’s The Supposed Huntsman (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2021) [see my review of such here] or even Montreal poet Stephanie Bolster’s Three Bloody Words (above/ground press, 1996; 2006)—most of which engage with elements of female agency or lack thereof, throughout so many of at least those European-originated tales (such as popularized by the Brothers Grimm). There’s a curious way that Croll’s narratives bob and weave in and around and through well-familiar narratives, her own perspective providing either highlight unexplored moments or simply question the narratives we’ve all taken for granted. “Why does the king need straw / spun into gold?” the poem “Questions for Rumpelstiltskin” begins, “He’s the king. / Doesn’t the king have all the gold / in the kingdom? Doesn’t the king / have more gold than he knows / what to do with?”

12 or 20 (second series) questions with Omar Ramadan

Omar Ramadan is a Lebanese-Canadian writer and PhD candidate in creative writing. He is the author of This Sweet Rupture (out now with UAlberta press!), the chapbooks Sun Dogs (forthcoming with Agatha Press), Sesame Love, and his works have appeared in Poetry Northwest, CV2, and The Polyglot. He lives in amiskwaciy (Edmonton).

1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?

This Sweet Rupture is my first book, and I am excited for it to be published and out in the world. I've spent several years working towards this collection, and it has changed my life in the way that I approach writing and think about the practice/craft itself. It also alleviated a lot of self doubt regarding my capabilities and intuitions regarding writing and the work that I am doing. People want to read this kind of work, read these kinds of stories, read this kind of poetry, and I am happy to be putting myself out there, working through all the ups and downs of being a writer and artist, and also enjoying the process along the way.

2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?

I came to poetry during my undergrad at UBC Okanagan in 2016. I was in the creative writing program (minor), and focused a lot of my efforts on fiction in most workshop classes that I took. At the time, I didn't think that I could write poems, and looking back, I am not sure why I held this belief. Maybe it was self doubt or that I was invested in writing fiction that blocked my pursuit of writing poetry. But in that last year of my time there, I took a workshop class with Professors Matt Rader and Michael V. Smith, who are two writers I look up to and inspire my own writing, and they pushed me into a space that I falsely believed I'd be uncomfortable in. I haven't looked back since.

3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?

I think it depends on how driven I am by an idea. Sometimes a project will come naturally and quickly, and I can push a draft in a short amount of time, or it takes time. So, a combination of both I think! I'd say for poetry, my first drafts often appear looking close to their final shape. I find that poetry comes naturally and easily, especially when I've been mulling an idea over in my head for a while.

4 - Where does a poem usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?

The poems in This Sweet Rupture started small. A piece here, a piece there. I was lucky enough to get enough pieces together to publish some of the poems that appear in the book as a chapbook titled "Sesame Love" with Moon Jelly House. But I did keep an overarching theme in mind when I was writing the poems, and thankfully I did, because it was much easier to compile them into a coherent book.

5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?

I love going to and participating in public readings. I haven't had the chance to do that much recently as I've been a bit of a hermit with the amount of work that I have on my plate, but I'm hopeful that I can get back out and do some readings/open mics. I find it important to my process to see and hear what other writers and artists are working on. It's inspirational!

6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are?

This is a tough question to answer. I don't usually frame my creative work through a theoretical lens. A lot of my work concerns father-son relationships, masculinities, migration. These are some of the aspects I think about when writing, but I like to leave interpretation up to the reader. I think it's more exciting to hear what others might theorize about my work rather than hear myself talking about it in that light.

7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?

The writer will always have a role in society/culture. I think one of the roles of the writer/artist is to make uncomfortable art, art that gives pause, that makes one think about the world and how they move within it.

8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?

I was very lucky to get to work with author and editor Kimmy Beach for this collection. I think a good editor will either make or break your experience. You definitely want an editor who will uplift you while also providing constructive feedback and criticism of your work. I think there also has to be a willingness on your end as well to entrust your words and work to an editor who might disagree with you on certain aspects, and a big part of being a writer is taking that feedback and working with it.

9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?

Good enough is good enough.

10 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?

I don't really have a routine. I try to write at least one poem a day if I can; that usually comes out to a page or so a day as my poems are relatively shorter in length. My writing tends to happen at night as my days are usually filled with me procrastinating on writing.

11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?

When my writing gets stalled, I tend to go look at some of the poetry books I have on my bookshelf and flip through them and that really helps rock me out of that stall.

12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?

Bakhoor.

13 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?

Music definitely inspires my work. For This Sweet Rupture I listened to a lot of classical Arab singers like Fairuz, Umm Kulthum, and Abdul Halim. I was trying to capture that essence of home and nostalgia in this collection, so I listened to them when I was writing or when I was not.

14 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?

Cristalle Smith, Marc Herman Lynch, Kaitlyn Purcell, Nisha Patel, Matthew James Weigel, Matt Rader, Michael V. Smith, Gary Soto, Jess Rizkallah, Etel Adnan, Mohammed El-Kurd, Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Safia Elhillo.

15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?

Hike the Pacific Northwest Trail. Win a literary award.

16 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?

I do enjoy and love working with my hands. I love working on cars and made a hobby of that. There's something satisfying about swapping a brake rotor and putting everything back together and the car still running afterwards. It's a good time!

17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?

I was just a natural at it. I was also not cut out for sciences.

18 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?

The last great book I read was Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. The last great film I watched was West and Soda.

19 - What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a new body of poetry, and working on editing down my detective fiction novel which is complete!

12 or 20 (second series) questions;