All articles

Editorial Assistant Jamie Kitts' Interview with Jaeyun Yoo whose poem "have you seen my father" won our 2023 Ralph Gustafson Poetry Prize and was published in Issue 299 (Spring 2024)

Jaeyun Yoo is a Korean-Canadian poet, psychiatrist, and graduate of Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio. A Best of the Net nominee, her poems have appeared in Room, Canthius, CV2, and elsewhere. She published a collaborative chapbook, Brine, with Harbour Centre 5, a collective of emerging poets.

Ian Clay Sewall is of Scottish, Danish and English descent, born in Canada and raised throughout Alberta, including time spent living on a First Nations reservation where his parents were teachers. Clay attended King Alfred's College in the United Kingdom and shot a documentary on the lives' of travelers. He received a B.Ed in English and Drama at the University of Alberta, and holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University.

I've been enjoying R. K. Narayan's retelling of The Mahabarata, much condensed from the full epic. It maintains the basic structure and themes, with a cheeky voice, occasionally nodding to the improbability of the events narrated. Highly recommended for anyone dipping their toes into the world of Indian epic.   

Love as a Driving Force by Manahil Bandukwala

A Dream Wants Waking, Lydia Kwa. Wolsak & Wynn, 2023

Lydia Kwa’s A Dream Wants Waking promises a dreamlike narrative through its title and cover, and the short novel certainly delivers. The book opens with a list of characters from the past timeline in Tang China from 644-904 CE and the present timeline of Luoyang in 2219 CE. Told through short chapters that switch back and forth at a rapid pace, Kwa immediately immerses the reader into both timelines of the story.

Editorial Assistant Rosie Leggott's Interview with Blair Trewartha whose poems "Sifto" and "Equal Temperament" were published in Issue 298 (Winter 2024)

Blair Trewartha’s first collection of poetry, Easy Fix (Palimpsest, 2014) was shortlisted for the Relit Award. He is the author of three chapbooks: Break In (Cactus Press, 2010), Porcupine Burning (Baseline Press, 2012), and human energy (Anstruther Press, 2022). His poetry has appeared in several journals.

Nestle In Words Like An Animal: The Poetic G/Rasp of Tongue, Throat, and Mouth in G by Kirby

G, Klara du Plessis & Khashayar “Kess” Mohammadi. Palimpsest Press, 2023.

First, let’s talk about the design/packaging of this book.

Lyrical Authenticity by Klara du Plessis

The King of Terrors, Jim Johnstone. Coach House Books, 2023.

Cautious Praise by Lynn Davies

Lent, Kate Cayley, Book*hug Press, 2023.

In Lent, Kate Cayley’s voice is driven by doubt and occasional bouts of confidence. In “Falling,” she says matter-of-factly,

         I can’t find time to repair.