Zach Peckham, As If And

my review of Cleveland poet, editor and publisher Zach Peckham's full-length debut, As If And (Queens NY/Buenos Aires, Argentina: New Mundo Press, 2026), is now online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics.

periodicities : Forty-five Ottawa poets : edited by rob mclennan,

 

 

Given our sixteenth annual VERSeFest: Ottawa's International Poetry Festival has been going on all week, I thought this would be a good opportunity to highlight what some of the Ottawa poets are doing these days, with a folio featuring new work by forty-five poets currently working across Ottawa and the immediate region.

the folio includes work by :

Kimberly Quiogue Andrews : Cameron Anstee : Allison Armstrong : John Baglow : Manahil Bandukwala : Dessa Bayrock : Frances Boyle : Liam Burke : Ellen Chang-Richardson : Jason Christie : Lana Crossman : David Currie : Michelle Desbarats : AJ Dolman : Rhonda Douglas : nina jane drystek : Amanda Earl : Tamsyn Farr : Sanita Fejzić : Cara Goodwin : Adele Graf : Vera Hadzic : Marilyn Irwin : Sarah Kabamba : Anita Lahey : Ben Ladouceur : Margo LaPierre : Michael Lithgow : rob mclennan : Christian McPherson : IAN MARTIN : Pamela Mosher : David O'Meara : Salem Paige : Pearl Pirie : Monty Reid : Leslie Roach : Helen Robertson : Tazi Rodrigues : Kevin Shaw : Mahaila Smith : DS Stymeist : Chris Turnbull (and Nico Vassilakis) : Jean Van Loon : Grant Wilkins

for further projects on Ottawa writers and writing, check out: the ongoing "six questions series," featuring more than two hundred interviews online with writers either currently or formerly based in Ottawa; my ongoing "bibliography of ottawa literary magazines and presses," featuring links and even interviews with editors/publishers of shuttered presses; and the series of "Arc Walks" I conducted back in 2018, the full texts (with photos from the day and plenty of links) of literary walks I curated in four different Ottawa neighbourhoods, solicited by Arc Poetry Magazine.

Elizabeth Bachinsky, Real Grownup

my review of New Westminster, British Columbia poet Elizabeth Bachinsky’s sixth full-length poetry title, Real Grownup (Gibsons BC: Nightwood Editions, 2026), is now online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. See my review of The Hottest Summer in Recorded History (Nightwood Editions, 2013) here and my interview with her when she was on the shortlist for thatyear’s Pat Lowther Memorial Award. I also did reviews of Curio (Toronto ON: BookThug, 2005) here, Home of Sudden Service (Nightwood Editions, 2006) here, God of Missed Connections (Nightwood Editions, 2006) here and I Don’t Feel So Good (BookThug, 2012) here.

Sandra Doller, Not Now Now

My review of Sandra Doller's Not Now Now (Rescue Press, 2025) is now online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. Catch my review of her collaborative (with Ben Doller) The Yesterday Project (Sidebrow Books, 2016) here, my review of her Chora (Ahsahta Press, 2010) here, and my review of her Leave Your Body Behind (Les Figues, 2015) here.

Rodrigo Toscano, WHITMAN. CANNONBALL. PUEBLA.

my review of Rodrigo Toscano's WHITMAN. CANNONBALL. PUEBLA. (Oakland CA: Omnidawn, 2025) is now online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. Catch my review of his The Charm & The Dread (Fence Books, 2021) here.

recently on periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics:

recently at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics: Laura Kerr : Unfixed Readings : Fugue, Fire, Fish ; Buck Downs : How to Be Alone With Someone Else Who Is Also You ; Jessie Jones : Two poems ; Kemeny Babineau : Two poems ; Jérôme Melançon : On the Gaza Poets Society ; Dani Spinosa and Derek Beaulieu : Notes on Visual Poetries in Canada ; Misha Solomon : How Does a Poem Begin? ; Noah Berlatsky : The Absolutely True Origin Story of Spamtoum! ; Jamella Hagen : Four poems ; a review of Julie Carr's Underscore by Jérôme Melançon ; Process Note #61 : Dawn Angelicca Barcelona ; a review of THE WEATHER AND THE WORDS: THE SELECTED LETTERS OF JOHN NEWLOVE, 1963-2003, Edited by J.A. Weingarten by Ken Norris ; Sarah Wolfson : How Does a Poem Begin? ; Michael Sikkema : Contemporary Vispo Conversations : Kate Siklosi, Dani Spinosa and Amanada Earl ; Andrew Brenza : on Sigil Series ; Noah Pitcoff : Five poems ; Miranda Mellis : DRIVE SATISFACTION ; Scott Inniss : On First Looking into Andrew Mbaruk’s Slavespeare: A Brief Interview ; Darby Minott Bradford : How does a poem begin? ; a review of Shannon Webb-Campbell's Re: Wild Her by Kim Fahner ; Ernesto Noboa y Caamaño : Four/Four: The Decapitated Generation : translated by Tristan Partridge ; a review of Cherry Blue's Je ne ferai pas de casse-tête de dauphin by Jérôme Melançon ; two poems by Eva Haas ; J-T Kelly : Short Remarks on More of How to Read the Bible ; ryan fitzpatrick : Some Notes on Being the 2024–25 U of A EFS Writer-in-Residence ; Clint Burnham : from “Sea of Sludge” ; Process Note #60 : Elizabeth Costello : Childhood, Adulthood, Enchantments, Entanglements ; John M. Bennett : JIM LEFTWICH’S LAST BOOK : PIT SWAN & ORBATE WRITING ; Grant Wilkins : Where Does A Poem Come From? How Does A Poem Begin? ; Nicole Mae : Matryoshka and Other Poems ; a review of Aedan Corey's KINAUVUNGA? and Emily Laurent Henderson's Hold Steady My Vision by Chris Johnson ; Kim Trainor : A small quiet voice in the dark: ecocide and lyric poetry ; J-T Kelly : A Conversation with Poet Aaron Poochigian ; Jessica Lee McMillan : Pain in the Reverie: What is a good poem and how does it begin? ; Daniel Borzutzky : HIJ ; Arturo Borja : Four/Four: The Decapitated Generation : translated by Tristan Partridge ; J.A. Weingarten : John Newlove’s Life in Letters: Notes on the Publication of The Weather and the Words: The Selected Letters of John Newlove, 1963-2003 ; Tea Gerbeza : How a poem begins ; Laura Kerr : Unfixed Readings : Resisting Resolution ; a review of Chris Bailey's Forecast: Pretty Bleak by Kim Fahner ;  

other features: seeking essay submissions in our "Reconsiderations" and "#FirstRealPoets" series. Originally prompted by Canadian poet Ken Norris, "Reconsiderations" is a series of essays by poets on older poetry titles they consider important. The "#FirstRealPoets" series was originally prompted by Canadian poet Zane Koss, who posed the questions: Who was the first poet you interacted with? While some of the responses have leaned into first discovering the work of a particular poet, the original question wished more to ask about interactions in-person. Was there a poet who read in your high school? Someone you caught early on at a reading? Was there a particular poet who first made you feel welcome in the community?

coming up: Farah Ghafoor : How does a poem begin? ; Laynie Browne : on Daily Self-Portrait Valentine ; Laressa Dickey : Four poems from THE LUNATIC SPEAKS TO US DIRECTLY, a manuscript in progress ; Nada Gordon : on COPIUM, …or…The Audacity of Dope ; Kim Fahner reviews Paula Eisenstein's Flight Problems: The Amelia Earhart Poems and Rebecca Salazar's antibody ; Holly Loveday : Three poems ; etc

be aware that periodicities is perpetually open to submissions of previously unpublished poetry-related reviews, interviews and essays. Please send submissions as .doc with author biography to periodicityjournal@gmail.com

rob mclennan : Interview with Laynie Browne

My interview with Pennsylvania poet Laynie Browne, focusing on her forthcoming Apprentice to a Breathing Hand (Omnidawn, 2025), is now online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. See my review of her latest here, and her three prior here.

three VERSeFest interviews: Alice Burdick, Manahil Bandukwala + Armand Garnet Ruffo,

I've been working a trio of interviews with poets as part of this weekend's VERSeFest "Fall into VERSeFest" mini-festival (that starts TONIGHT), all of which I've been posting recently over at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics (there was also a sequence of interviews for our spring festival, if you recall: Chris Turnbull, Klara du Plessis, Laila Malik, Jason Christie, Sandra Ridley, Khashayar "Kess" Mohammadi + AJ Dolman). The three new interviews posted include: Alice Burdick (she has a new title with Anvil Press, and reads tonight at RedBird: have you tickets yet? she's also doing an in-person poetry workshop on Saturday!), Manahil Bandukwala (who also reads tonight, and has a new title with Brick Books) and Armand Garnet Ruffo (who has a new award-winning title with Wolsak and Wynn, and reads on Saturday). I actually interviewed Ruffo prior, ten years ago for Jacket2: do you recall? Why not read and compare? Did I ask him the same questions? Did he provide the same answers?

periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics

Recently on periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics: new poetry by brandy ryan, Nicholas Power (for John Barlow), D.A. Lockhart, Czandra/Sandra Stephenson (for John Barlow), Jane Shi, Catriona Strang, Joanne Arnott (for John Barlow), Lillian Nećakov (for John Barlow), Craig Carpenter (for Roy Miki), Mari-Lou Rowley, Yaxkin Melchy Ramos (translated by Ryan Greene), Penn Kemp, Gary Barwin, Martin Corless-Smith, ryan fitzpatrick, Aakriti Kuntal and Scott Ferry, Charlie Petch, Jason Heroux and Dag T. Straumsvåg ; reviews of work by Katie Naughton (by Geoffrey Nilson), Christine McNair (by Kim Fahner), Susan Rich (by Kim Fahner), Klara du Plessis (by Alan Read), Isabelle Courteau (by Jérôme Melançon), Agnes Walsh (by Kim Fahner), Joyelle McSweeney (by rob mclennan), Dyane Léger (by Jérôme Melançon) and Hollay Ghadery (by Kim Fahner) ; rob mclennan interviews Alice Burdick (with a further interview with Manahil Bandukwala to post in about thirty minutes or so, both of which relate to this month's VERSeFEST mini-festival), Joelle Barron in conversation with Jes Battis ; Stan Rogal interviews rob mclennan ; Michael Sikkema interviews Eric Lindley and Joe Milazzo ; Michael Sikkema interviews Adam Stutz ; rob mclennan interviews David O'Meara ; J-T Kelly interviews Buck Downs ; Stan Rogal interviews Stuart Ross ; 

Conal Smiley, Mckenzie Strath, Ian FitzGerald, Vik Shirley, Scott Inniss and Gil McElroy each write on their recent above/ground press chapbooks ; Residency Reports by Anna Quon, Leah Horlick (from the Calgary Distinguished Writers’ Program), K.I. Press (Banff's Summer Residency Program) and Cassidy McFadzean (Sheridan College's CW&P Writer-in-Residence) ; nathan dueck on Sarah Klassen ; a sequence of review-essays by Kevin Spenst ; Blaine Marchand on Catherine Ahearn, Ottawa's (and Canada's) first municipal poet laureate ; rob mclennan on John Barlow ; Karen Shenfeld on Goran Simic ; Phinder Dulai on Roy Miki ; Notes from the Field by Winston Lê ; Kate Rogers on Poetry of Witness ; Thom Eichelberger-Young on Joan Retallack ;

folio : Three from Viscera: Eight Voices from Poland, edited by Mark Tardi, with statements and poems by Maria Cyranowicz (translated from the Polish by Małgorzata Myk), Hanna Janczak (translated from the Polish by Katarzyna Szuster-Tardi) and Anna Adamowicz (translated from the Polish by Lynn Suh); Anne K Yoder: on MEEKLING PRESS ; Briony Collins on Atomic Bohemian ; Mary Meriam on Headmistress Press ; David Wojciechowski on Postcard ; Rob MacDonald on Sixth Finch Books ; allison calvern on Robert Gibbs ; further pieces in Stan Rogal's ongoing REPORT FROM THE DEAD POETS’ SOCIETY ; "Process Notes," curated by Maw Shein Win, by Kathleen McClung, David Koehn, Chris Stroffolino, Terry Tierney and Blas Falconer  ;

with forthcoming poems, essays and reviews by: Jérôme Melançon, Luciana Erregue-Sacchi, daniel barbiero, Kim Fahner, J-T Kelly, Brook Houglum and Kevin Spenst (among plenty of others)

and a reminder: periodicities is open to submissions of previously unpublished poetry-related reviews, interviews and essays. We are also seeking pieces (essays/interviews etc) on the Canadian long poem! please send submissions as .doc with author biography to periodicityjournal (at) gmail.com

For the time being, submissions of previously unpublished poetry will be by solicitation-only, with the exception of translated works (which you should very much send along! please send translations!).

ALSO: periodicities is seeking essays in its #FirstRealPoets series, a series originally prompted by Canadian poet Zane Koss, who wrote on first encountering Stuart Ross. Who was the first real poet you ever encountered in the flesh? How did that encounter shape your approach to poetry? How does that poet make poetry a possibility for people who might not otherwise see themselves as poets? We hope to read essays about real poets' poets. The poets who might not get the critical recognition they deserve but are nonetheless important community-creating figures who welcome and encourage new voices.

ALSO: periodicities is seeking essays in its #reconsiderations series; essays on a particular older book by another poet, a series originally prompted by Ken Norris, who wrote a piece on Michael Ondaatje's Rat Jelly.

periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics,
founded March 2020
edited and lovingly maintained by rob mclennan
built as a curious extension of above/ground press (b. July 9, 1993

newly posted at periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics: folio : Barry McKinnon (1944-2023)

folio : Barry McKinnon (1944-2023)
, edited by Jeremy Stewart and Donna Kane

Jeremy Stewart : Introduction : Something – for Barry McKinnon ;

Hope Anderson : Tribute ; Elizabeth Bachinsky : Three poems ; bill bissett : ths xcelent prson  k.darcy taylor  was driving me away ; Marilyn Bowering : Barry McKinnon ; Lary Bremner : heart in place  out of time for barry mckinnon ; Brian Hiram Coulter : There was this kid in band ; Pierre Coupey : a few words for barry ; Justin Foster : Caledonia ; Solomon Goudsward : On the Death of Barry McKinnon ; Donna Kane : Barry here ; GP Lainsbury : Phenomenology put to work in the Poetry of Barry McKinnon ; rob mclennan : I wanted to say something ; Matt Partyka : Out of the Blind World ; Graham Pearce : No Distance – Three Poems ; Al Rempel : Anecdotes ; Clea Roberts : What can be done, as if an answer/ is possible? ; George Sipos : Tribute ; Jeremy Stewart : something (postscript for Barry McKinnon ; Paul Strickland : Tribute Red Shuttleworth : Tribute ; Sharon Thesen : A FEW WORDS FOR BARRY MCKINNON ; Simon Thompson : Tribute ; Michael Turner : Tribute ; Fred Wah : Bundling Barry ; Tom Wayman : Tribute ; Gillian Wigmore : Tribute ;

extras: John Harris : Barry McKinnon -- We Remember ; Paul E. Nelson: Barry McKinnon in ICU ; obituary by rob mclennan ; obituary by Paul E. Nelson ; obituary by Andrew Kurjata, CBC ; from the archives -- Remembering Barry McKinnon (1944-2023) by Cecil Giscombe, The Capilano Review ; Barry McKinnon's 2022 Touch the Donkey [a small poetry journal] interview ; Barry McKinnon's website ; other tributes (from Barry's website ;

photos of Barry McKinnon throughout provided by Joy McKinnon ;
[except for photos provided by Simon Thompson + rob mclennan,

See the full folio [with links] here

Nada Gordon, The Sound Princess: Selected Poems 1985-2015

My review of Nada Gordon's The Sound Princess: Selected Poems 1985-2015 (Brooklyn NY: Subpress Collective, 2024) is now online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. See my review of her chapbook-length selected, The Swing of Things (Subpress, 2022) here.

Erín Moure, Theophylline: an a-poretic migration via the modernisms of Rukeyser, Bishop, Grimké (de Castro, Vallejo)

My review of Erín Moure's Theophylline: an a-poretic migration via the modernisms of Rukeyser, Bishop, Grimké (de Castro, Vallejo) (Toronto ON: House of Anansi Press, 2023) is now online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics.

newly posted at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics : folio : (further) short takes on the prose poem

newly posted at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics : folio : (further) short takes on the prose poem

Gary Barwin ; Jay Besemer ; Heather Cadsby ; Maxine Chernoff ; kevin mcpherson eckhoff ; Anna Gurton-Wachter ; Jason Heroux ; Shane Kowalski ; Aaron Kreuter ; Alex Leslie ; Nate Logan ; IAN MARTIN ; Angelo Mao ; Sarah Moses ; Lori Anderson Moseman ; Gillian Parrish and Gene Pfeiffer ; Devon Rae ; Eléna Rivera ; Gillian Sze ; Vik Shirley ; Evan Williams ; Kim Fahner, Margo LaPierre, and Jérôme Melançon, Extroverted review: the book of smaller, by rob mclennan ; prior folio: twenty-eight short takes on the prose poem (March 2022) ; lovingly edited and compiled by rob mclennan,

periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics

Recently on periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics: new poetry by Amanda Earl, Miranda Mellis, Guy Elston, Derek Beaulieu, kevin mcpherson eckhoff, Kate Siklosi, Ariel Gordon,Daniel Sarah Karasik, Julia Polyck-O’Neill, Kevin Varrone, Carlos Soto Román, Dani Spinosa and Meredith Stricker; reviews of work by John Wall Barger (by Kevin Spenst), Nancy Jo Cullen (by Kim Fahner), David Ly (by Jérôme Melançon), Khashayar Mohammadi and Saeed Tavanaee Marvi (by rob mclennan), Kim Fahner (by Jérôme Melançon) and Peter Burghardt (by rob mclennan); Michael Sikkema interviews Scott Ferry; George Bowering, Derek Beaulieu and Melanie Dennis Unrau each write on their recent above/ground press chapbooks; Residency Reports by Jason Heroux, Lisa Pasold and Lee Ann Roripaugh; Geoffrey Young offers three more in his ongoing "DATES" series; Kristen Tapson on Bernadette Mayer, D.S. Black on Michael McClure; Han VanderHart & Amorak Huey on River River Books, and Sarah Gzemski on Noemi Press; and "Process Notes," curated by Maw Shein Win, by James Cagney, Caroline Goodwin, Susana Praver-Pérez, Linda Norton and rob mclennan (with more forthcoming, including Colin Partch)

as well as pieces reprinted from various of the Report from the Society festschrift series, including pieces critical and creative, including Sarah Dowling, Sarah Heady and Barbara Cole on Pattie McCarthy (with further volumes forthcoming!

with forthcoming work by: Jason Heroux, Daniel Barbiero, Nathanael O’Reilly, Matthew Tomkinson, Lindsey Webb and Martin Breul (among plenty of others)

and a reminder: periodicities is open to submissions of previously unpublished poetry-related reviews, interviews and essays. We are also seeking pieces (essays/interviews etc) on the Canadian long poem!

Please send submissions as .doc with author biography to periodicityjournal (at) gmail.com

For the time being, submissions of previously unpublished poetry will be by solicitation-only, with the exception of translated works (which you should very much send along! please send translations!).

ALSO: periodicities is seeking essays in its #FirstRealPoets series, a series originally prompted by this piece by Canadian poet Zane Koss on Stuart Ross. Who was the first real poet you ever encountered in the flesh? How did that encounter shape your approach to poetry? How does that poet make poetry a possibility for people who might not otherwise see themselves as poets? We hope to read essays about real poets' poets. The poets who might not get the critical recognition they deserve but are nonetheless important community-creating figures who welcome and encourage new voices.

ALSO: periodicities is seeking short essays on a particular older book by another poet, a series originally prompted by Ken Norris, who wrote this piece on Michael Ondaatje's Rat Jelly.

periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics,
founded March 2020
edited and lovingly maintained by rob mclennan
built as a curious extension of above/ground press (b. July 9, 1993

periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics

Recently on periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics: new poetry by Joseph Kidney, Lannii Layke, russell carisse, Margo LaPierre, Kristjana Gunnars, Gary Barwin, Ori Fienberg, Heather Cadsby, Shelly Harder, Phil Hall, Ben Jahn, Beth Follett, Pearl Pirie, Rob Winger, Ronna Bloom and Gil McElroy; reviews of work by Stuart Ross (by Jay Miller), Joanna Lilley (by Kim Fahner), Charles Leblanc (by Jérôme Melançon), Steph Yates (by Adam Mohamed), Yvonne Blomer (by Kim Fahner), Chris Banks (by Russell Carisse), Kate Hargreaves (by rob mclennan), Rose Després (by Jérôme Melançon), Conyer Clayton (by rob mclennan), Stephen Brockwell (by rob mclennan), Lise Gaboury-Diallo (by Jérôme Melançon), Tanis MacDonald (by Kim Fahner); interviews with Yvonne Blomer (by Kim Fahner), Sarah Mangold (by Joanna Piechura) and a roundtable interview with Stephen Morrissey, Endre Farkas, and Ken Norris about the Vehicule days and beyond (by Carolyn Marie Souaid); translations of work by Charles Leblanc (by Jérôme Melançon), Rose Després (by Jérôme Melançon), Lise Gaboury-Diallo (by Jérôme Melançon) and Emile Verhaeren (by Jacob Siefring); essays by Michael Boughn, Geoffrey Nilson, Mirjana Villeneuve (on Sylvia Plath), Stan Rogal (on David Donnell's Watermelon Kindness), Patrick James Dunagan (on Gregory Corso), Peg Cherrin-Myers (on Ronna Bloom), Ken Norris (on Michael Ondaatje's Rat Jelly), Colin Morton (on George Bowering's Kerrisdale Elegies), Gil McElroy (on Ken Stange), Jed Munson, Terri Witek (on WH Auden), M.L. Martin (on Joseph Ceravolo), Martin Corless-Smith (on Free Poetry), Frances Klein (on Matthew Dickman), Michael Schuffler (on Kid Stigmata), Grant Wilkins, Andrew Burke (on Phil Hall), Chris Banks on Dean Young (1955-2022) and Mark Tardi Craig Watson (1950–2022); Notes on the Field by Ellen Chang-Richardson (on Ottawa) and Annick MacAskill (on Kjipuktuk/Halifax); Residency Report by Marie Marchand; Amanda Earl's Visual Poetry Through the Lens of the Long Poem: A Conversation : folio; virtual reading series #30, with new videos by Michael Fraser, Alexandra Oliver, Alice Burdick, Adrian Lürssen + Leigh Chadwick; and "Process Notes," curated by Maw Shein Win, by Katie Peterson and Young Suh, and Lisa Rosenberg (with more forthcoming, including Rae Diamond, rob mclennan and MK Chavez)

as well as pieces reprinted from various of the Report from the Society festschrift series, including pieces critical and creative, responding to works by Stephen Brockwell, Amanda Earl, Stuart Ross, Kate Siklosi, Elizabeth Robinson, Monty Reid, Cameron Anstee, Phil Hall, Gregory Betts and Sarah Mangold (with further volumes forthcoming!

with forthcoming work by Paul Perry, Lori Anderson Moseman, Kirstin Allio, Divya Victor, Christopher Patton, Jay Stefanik, Leigh Chadwick, Chris Johnson, Yvonne Blomer and plenty of others! What!

and a reminder: periodicities is open to submissions of previously unpublished poetry-related reviews, interviews and essays. We are also seeking pieces (essays/interviews etc) on the Canadian long poem!

Please send submissions as .doc with author biography to periodicityjournal (at) gmail.com

For the time being, submissions of previously unpublished poetry will be by solicitation-only, with the exception of translated works (which you should very much send along).

ALSO: periodicities is seeking essays in its #FirstRealPoets series, a series originally prompted by this piece by Canadian poet Zane Koss on Stuart Ross. Who was the first real poet you ever encountered in the flesh? How did that encounter shape your approach to poetry? How does that poet make poetry a possibility for people who might not otherwise see themselves as poets? We hope to read essays about real poets' poets. The poets who might not get the critical recognition they deserve but are nonetheless important community-creating figures who welcome and encourage new voices.

ALSO: periodicities is seeking short essays on a particular older book by another poet, a series originally prompted by Ken Norris, who wrote this piece on Michael Ondaatje's Rat Jelly.

periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics,
founded March 2020
edited and lovingly maintained by rob mclennan
built as a curious extension of above/ground press (b. July 9, 1993

Dara Barrois/Dixon, Tolstoy Killed Anna Karenina

My review of Tolstoy Killed Anna Karenina (Wave Books, 2022), by Dara Barrois/Dixon is now up at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. And I even reviewed her You Good Thing (Wave Books, 2014) [see such here] a million years ago as well!

newly posted at periodicities: twenty-eight short takes on the prose poem

folio : twenty-eight short takes on the prose poem:

Mixed Signals : A Discussion Between Jonathan Ball and ryan fitzpatrick : Derek Beaulieu : Sarah Burgoyne : Michael e. Casteels : Sharmila Cohen : Conyer Clayton : S. Brook Corfman : Carrie Etter : Kate Feld : Howie Good : MC Hyland : Eve Joseph : emilie kniefel : Adam Lawrence : Nice Furniture, Idiot: Some Wandering Thoughts on the Prose Poem : Sara Lefsyk : Sylvia Legris : Amelia Martens : rob mclennan : in defence of prose poems : émilie kneifel and rob mclennan in conversation : Sawako Nakayasu : Evan Nicholls : Benjamin Niespodziany : Sandra Ridley : Ian Seed : Marcus Slease : Edward Smallfield : Lydia Unsworth : Lindsey Webb : lovingly edited and compiled by rob mclennan,


other folios from periodicities include:

Melanie Dennis Unrau : energy stories : folio

folio : Mark Goldstein : Paul Celan/100

SJ Fowler : a small folio of poets : engerland

Kyle Flemmer : Contemporary Haiku

folio : Peter Ganick (1946-2020)

RM Vaughan : Marsh Blue Violet: Queer Poetry from New Brunswick

folio : Ken Belford (1946-2020)

R. Kolewe, The Absence of Zero

My review of Toronto poet R. Kolewe's third full-length poetry title, The Absence of Zero (Toronto ON: Book*hug Press, 2021), recently appeared online at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics.

the answer to everything: Selected Poems of Ken Belford

My review of the answer to everything: Selected Poems of Ken Belford (Caitlin Press, 2021), edited by Rob Budde and Si Transken, with consulting editor Jordan Scott, is now up at periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics.

new from above/ground press : May-August 2021 : twenty-four new titles,

I clearly need to be posting these updates more often: G U E S T [a journal of guest editors] #18 : edited by Melissa Eleftherion : with new work by Caroline Goodwin, Nancy Chen Long, Elise Ficarra, Brenda Iijima, Florencia Milito, Saba Syed Razvi, Aileen Cassinetto, Zoe Tuck and Kim Shuck $8 ; Listening Through the Body: An Exercise in Sustained Coordination, by Valerie Witte $5 ; From Each Forthcoming, by Robert Hogg $5 ; the girl arrived, by Ken Sparling $5 ; Television Poems, by Jessi MacEachern $5 ; small colossus, by Nathan Alexander Moore $5 ; Study, by Katie Naughton $5 ; Do You Ever Think of Me?, by Summer Brenner $5 ; Ordinary Annals, by Monica Mody $5 ; The End of Lake Superior, by Kōan Anne Brink $5 ; TWETWE, an alt-text pandemoir, by Gregory Betts $5 ; HAWAIIAN SUNRISE, by Ken Norris $5 ; Touch the Donkey [a small poetry journal] #30 : with new poems by Dana Teen Lomax, Amanda Auerbach, Jay Millar, Cat Tyc, IAN MARTIN, Paige Carabello, Emma Tilley and Jack Jung $8 ; Boing, Extinction VS Wow! Signal, Michael Sikkema $5 ; SOME OF THE PUZZLES, by M.A.C. Farrant $5 ; G U E S T [a journal of guest editors] #17, edited by Melanie Dennis Unrau : with new work by Yvonne Blomer, Kiran Malik-Khan, Peter Christensen, K.B. Thors, Nicholas Molbert, Rina Garcia Chua, Tawahum Bige, Julia Spicher Kasdorf, David Martin, Ross Belot, Bola Opaleke, Adam Dickinson, Lindsay Bird, Kelly Shepherd, Maya Weeks,Lisa Mulrooney, Rita Wong $6 ; WORM     HOLES, After Cao Fei’s La Town, by Jamie Townsend $5 ; In the Museum, by Conor Mc Donnell $5 ; Kid Commitment Proves Them Wrong, by Adam Thomlison $5 ; Retrofit Me, by Alyssa Bridgman $5 ; Labour Day, by James Lindsay $5 ; SOME OTHER DAYS AND NIGHTS, by David Miller $5 ; The Breakers (Expanded), by Amish Trivedi $5 ; and you saw the post listing all the titles from the first part of 2021, yes?

keep an eye on the above/ground press blog for author interviews, new writing, reviews, upcoming readings and tons of other material;

the above/ground press prose/naut series is coming along nicely, and I'm sure you've kept up with G U E S T [a journal of guest editors], Touch the Donkey [a small poetry journal] and periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics, yes?

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
May-August 2021
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy of each

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button (above). Scroll down here to see various backlist titles, or click on any of the extensive list of names on the sidebar (many, many things are still in print).

Review copies of any title (while supplies last) also available, upon request.

Forthcoming chapbooks by Karl Jirgens, James Yeary, Nate Logan, Sean Braune and Émilie Dionne, Simon Brown, Andy Weaver, Stan Rogal, Matthew Owen Gwathmey, Benjamin Niespodziany, Phil Hall and Madhur Anand, Jen Tynes, Franklin Bruno, Amaranth Borsuk, Gary Barwin and plenty of others! Oh, and Pearl Pirie is editing a forthcoming issue of G U E S T! And so is Edric Mesmer! And I'll be announcing 2022 subscriptions soon! (honestly, the same rate as last year, if you want to get ahead of the crowd).

Stay home! Stay safe! Get vaccinated! Wash your damned hands. Be nice to each other.