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[Readings] Desi Di Nardo Co-Hosts Poetry Parade with Pierre DesRuisseaux

Guernica author Desi Di Nardo will be co-hosting Poetry Parade at The Annex Live on November 8th with Canada's poet laureate, Pierre DesRuisseaux.

The Annex Live
296 Brunswick Avenue [map]
Toronto, Ontario
Sunday, November 8, 2009 @ 7 pm

Also reading will be Max Layton, Armand Garnet Ruffo, and Toronto's new poet laureate, Dionne Brand. In addition, the night will feature live jazz, an art exhibit, and the winners of a high school poetry contest.

Desi Di Nardo is the author of The Plural of Some Things, published by Guernica Editions.

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Launch] Join us at Bar Italia on October 25

Guernica Editions is pleased to invite you to the launch of four new titles in our prestigious Prose Series.

Playing Naomi by Erika Rummel

Peace Tower by F.G. Paci

Octopus Intelligence by Timothy Quinn

Italy Revisited by Mary Melfi (read by Elana Wolff)

Join us at Bar Italia on Sunday, 25 October 2009, 2:00 - 4:00 PM. RSVP through Facebook is optional but appreciated: http://bit.ly/4mp0d9

The event is open to the public, so please forward this invitation to anyone you think would like to attend. Our launches are widely attended by the greater literary community, and we'd love to see you there!

[Readings] Desi Di Nardo at Free Times Cafe

Guernica author and NOW HEAR THIS! writer in residence Desi Di Nardo will be reading at the Free Times Cafe on Wednesday, October 21, as part of the fourth installment of the HEAR/HEAR Reading Series. Doors open at 6 pm for dinner and drinks.

Free Times Cafe
320 College Street [map]
Toronto, Ontario

Also reading will be Larry Frolick and Mary-Lou Zeitoun.

Desi Di Nardo is the author of The Plural of Some Things, published by Guernica Editions.

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Appeal] OAC Funding Controversy Covered in the Canadian Jewish News

An article in the current issue of the Canadian Jewish News discusses the recent OAC funding cuts to Guernica Editions.

"Though serving the Italian community primarily," writes staff reporter Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf, "the publication also is home to a variety of ethnic wordsmiths, including a smattering of Jewish, award-winning authors and poets who are none-too-pleased by the provincial agency’s decision to reject this year’s grant application."

"[The withdrawal of funding] puts a financial strain on us,”publisher Antonio D'Alfonso is quoted as saying. “This isn’t a money-making job. Everyone who works with us works for peanuts... Are books like shoes, ham or potatoes? We are a literary press. We produce books about ethnic culture, cultural pluralism. This is a slow process. When we started, ‘multicultural’ barely existed as a term. Guernica was one of the first presses to deal with such issues.”

The full article can be read on the Canadian Jewish News website: http://bit.ly/4svYeP

[Appeal] Reader Responds to OAC

Tandem has published a reader response to the Ontario Arts Council's recent defense of this year's Guernica cutbacks.

[Review] Desi Di Nardo's The Plural of Some Things Reviewed in Prairie Fire

Guernica author Desi Di Nardo's latest collection, The Plural of Some Things, is reviewed by Roger Knox in the Praire Fire Review of Books.

"Desi Di Nardo's ecological poetic world extends beyond flora, fauna, and the inanimate to include human and spiritual interconnection," writes Knox. "These poems contain such powerful experiences that it is difficult to take our leave unaffected by them. We are enlightened by the discovery of a relationship of spiritual empowerment in 'Poetry on Lake Simcoe,' intrigued by mystery and the unconscious in 'The Abstract Night,' and enticed by sexual rapture in 'White Rain.' Whether confronting the dissembling self in 'Inner Landscapes,' dealing noncommittally with a parent's absent love in 'Forget You Not,' or expressing emotional repression in 'Red Spill of Adrenalin,' the poetry voices summon us to take heed. Meaningful interconnecting amid the surrounding turmoil becomes the most needful and redemptive process of all."

Read the full review at Prairie Fire.

The Plural of Some Things is available online or through Guernica's North American and European distributors:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Interview] Antonio D'Alfonso Interviewed for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation

Guernica publisher Antonio D'Alfonso is interviewed by Swiss radio on emigration, bilingualism and culture.

Italian link: http://bit.ly/1T82YX

English link: http://bit.ly/ZfmqB

Antonio D'Alfonso founded Guernica Editions in 1978, and has edited over 450 hundred books by authors from around the world. He is presently a writer in residence at McGill University (French language and literature department).

To order books from Guernica Editions:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Interview] Ten Questions with Catherine Black

Guernica author Catherine Black is interviewed this week on Open Book. "It’s your job to be curious about the world, even if it makes you look peculiar to strangers," advises Black, "and write every day like you’re practicing scales."

You can read the full interview on Open Book.

Catherine Black is the author of Lessons of Chaos and Disaster, available from Guernica Editions:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Desi Di Nardo at Types

Guernica author Desi Di Nardo will be reading at Type Books on Monday, September 21, to celebrate Leonard Cohen's 75th birthday and the launch of Leonard Cohen: You're Our Man.

Type Books
883 Queen St. West [map]
Toronto, Ontario M6J 1G5
info@typebooks.ca

Also reading will be Rachel Delph, Catherine Graham, Laurie Graham, Penn Kemp, Max Layton, Goran Simic and Marcel Soulliere.

Desi Di Nardo is the author of The Plural of Some Things, published by Guernica Editions.

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Elana Wolff at Livewords

Guernica author Elana Wolff will be reading at Sage West for Livewords on Thursday, September 24.

Sage West
924 College Street [map]
Toronto, Ontario
8pm (but come early to get a seat)

Elana Wolff is the author of three collections of poetry with Guernica: Birdheart (2001), Mask (2003), and You Speak to Me in Trees (2006) - winner of the 2008 F. G. Bressani Prize for Poetry. Elana is also co-author with the late poet, Malca Litovitz, of Slow Dancing: Creativity and Illness, Duologue and Rengas (2008). A collection of short essays on contemporary poems, titled Implicate Me, is forthcoming with Guernica in 2009.

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Contest] Free Passes to Words Alive 2009

Guernica Editions has a few free passes to Words Alive 2009, held this September 20 at Sharon Temple Historic Site in Sharon, Ontario. Details on Words Alive can be found on their website or their Facebook group.

To get in for free, send us a message through Facebook, Twitter or our website. There's no skill-testing question, but we do ask that you be either a member of our Facebook group or a follower of our Twitter feed, so please include your name or username to be eligible! (An email address too, please, so that we can contact you if you win.)

Contact us before noon this Friday, September 11. We'll randomly pick from all entries. Good luck!

[Readings] Melanie Janisse at Zoots Cafe

Guernica author Melanie Janisse will be reading from her collection, Orioles in the Oranges, on October 6, 2009, at Zoots Cafe.

Zoots Cafe
1438 Dundas St. West [map]
Toronto, Ontario
October 6, 2009, 7:00pm

Books, drinks and other goodies available for sale.

Melanie Janisse is a native of Windsor, Ontario. She holds degrees Communications from Concordia University and Visual Arts from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Now a resident of Toronto, Melanie keeps active as a visual artist, poet, designer and shop owner. Orioles in the Oranges, available soon from Guernica Editions, is her first collection of poetry. To order:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Antonio D'Alfonso, Hélène Rioux and Nadine Ltaif at The Yellow Door

Guernica authors Antonio D'Alfonso, Hélène Rioux and Nadine Ltaif will be reading from their works at the Yellow Door Poetry and Prose Reading (yellowdoor.org) on Thursday, October 15, 2009.

Hélène Rioux will be reading from her collection Intimate Dialogues (English translation to be read by Jonathan Kaplansky). Nadine Ltaif will be reading from her book, Changing Shores (English translation to be read by Christine Tipper). Antonio D'Alfonso is the founder and publisher of Guernica Editions, and has written over thirty books.

The Yellow Door
3625 Aylmer [map]
Montreal, PQ

Other featured writers include Mark Paterson, H. Nigel Thomas, Lesley Pasquin, Brian Campbell and Milton Dawes.

Doors open at 7:00pm, with readings beginning at 7:30. Admission (at the door) is $5.00.

Intimate Dialogues and Changing Shores are available from Guernica Editions, as well as from:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Article] Tandem Covers the OAC Decision

Isabella Gagliardi, writing in Tandem, interviews Antonio D'Alfonso, Julie Roorda and Karen Shenfeld about the Ontario Arts Council's decision to withhold funding this year from Guernica Editions.

“This is about how we live in a society where culture is not funded enough,” Antonio D’Alfonso says, discussing the OAC's current grant criteria.

“Personally I feel that this is part of a larger trend," adds Guernica author Julie Roorda. "It seems to me that the kind of simplistic business model is being inappropriately applied not just across the arts but to education and health care as well. That model works for some businesses, but I think it’s very damaging to apply it to these other institutions like the arts that are based on values that are different from commercial values, which are just about making money."

"[At Guernica] there has always been a gap between commercial writing and literary writing," says Karen Shenfeld, reacting to the a"serious concerns about... impact and viability" expressed by the OAC. "I believe that alone should bespeak of Guernica’s viability."

The full article is available at http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=9355

[Readings] Timothy Quinn at Words Alive 2009

Guernica author Timothy Quinn will be appearing at the Words Alive literary festival on September 20, 2009, where he will be reading from his forthcoming book, Octopus Intelligence.

Words Alive
Sharon Temple Historic Site
18974 Leslie Street [map]
East Gwillimbury, Ontario
(905) 895-9988
September 20, 2009
Admission: $5 (free parking)

Reading: 11:00 - 11:45 in the Log House
Workshop: "The innovative writer's toolkit" / 12:00 - 12:45 / Hall B

To order Octopus Intelligence:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Erika Rummel at McNally Robinson

Guernica author Erika Rummel will be reading at McNally Robinson on November 17, 2009, at 7pm.

McNally Robinson
1090 Don Mills Road [map]
Toronto, ON M3C 3R6
416-384-0084

Erika Rummel is the author of Playing Naomi, due out this year from Guernica Editions.

To order, please contact:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Appeal] Toronto Star's Joe Fiorito Takes On the OAC

Toronto Star columnist Joe Fiorito discusses the Ontario Arts Council's withdrawal of funding for Guernica Editions in today's paper. The full article can be read online: http://www.thestar.com/article/678694

Says Fiorito, "The Ontario Arts Council, which has provided modest funding over the years, has just stopped giving grants to Guernica... That's not just stupid, it's offensive." Fiorito cites the OAC's assessment that Guernica's titles "fell below the standard in impact and viability," wondering whether that means "it's hard to sell a Guernica book in an airport."

Guernica Editions recently appealed to its readership to protest the withdrawal of funding: "We have recently learned that the Ontario Arts Council has discontinued all funding for Guernica Editions. This is an unjust decision that threatens to censor the several hundred writers to whom Guernica has given voice over 31 years of publishing, and to suppress important elements of Canada's culture and identity as a whole. Please write to the OAC and to your local politicians to express your support for Guernica, and to request their help in reversing this decision. Following is a sample letter you may wish to send to the individuals listed below.

To help support Guernica Editions, please write to:

John Brotman
Executive Director
Ontario Arts Council
jbrotman@arts.on.ca

John Degen
Literature Officer
Ontario Arts Council
degen@arts.on.ca

The Honourable Aileen Carroll
Minister of Culture
Province of Ontario
acarroll.mpp@liberal.ola.org

Peter Tabuns
MPP Toronto – Danforth
Culture Critic, New Democratic Party
tabunsp-qp@ndp.on.ca

You can also find contact information for your local MPP here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/member_addresses.do?locale=en

Guernica Editions recommends a letter similar to this:

Dear ____________,

I am writing to request your help in reversing a decision by the Ontario Arts Council to eliminate funding for Guernica Editions. In its 31 years of publishing, Guernica has facilitated dialogue within and among Canada's diverse communities and led the debate about Canada's identity. Guernica has published more English translations of Francophone Canadian writers than any other publisher. It has remained the foremost publisher of Italian-Canadian literature in the world, while keeping pace with the changing faces of Canada. Guernica has published more than 800 writers.

The OAC's decision threatens Guernica's future as a publisher, rendering this unique body of work unavailable to Ontarians, and to the world, and silencing many voices that would continue to enrich Canada's cultural landscape. Please intervene in any way possible to convince the OAC to reconsider this decision.

Thank you.

[Review] Slow Dancing and You Speak to Me in Trees

Guernica author Elana Wolff's two recent books, Slow Dancing and You Speak to Me in Trees, have been recommended by Writer in Residence Marianne Paul on Open Book.

"[You Speak to Me in Trees] is a sweet collection that speaks to nature, love, heritage, family and life. Each word is perfectly placed," says Marianne Paul. "Slow Dancing is poignant, important, graceful, honest."

Both reviews can be read in full on Open Book: Review of Slow Dancing / Review of You Speak to Me in Trees

Orders:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)
Direct: Guernica Editions (416-658-9888)

[Interview] Ten Questions with Antonio D'Alfonso

Guernica publisher Antonio D'Alfonso is interviewed this week on Open Book. "For some reason I am writing a lot these days," says D'Alfonso, "as if, to quote René Char, I were late on my own life."

You can read the full interview on Open Book.

More information on Antonio D'Alfonso is available on his official website.

[Readings] Jean-Marc Desgent and Carole David at the Yellow Door

Guernica authors Jean-Marc Desgent and Carole David will be reading from their works at the Yellow Door Poetry and Prose Reading (yellowdoor.org) on Thursday, September 24, 2009.

Jean-Marc Desgent is the author of Twentieth Centuries (translated by Daniel Sloate and read by Antonio D'Alfonso). Carole David is the author of The Place Where Your Soul Dwells (translated by Nora Alleyn), Unholy Stories (translated by Nora Alleyn) and Impala (translated by Daniel Sloate).

The Yellow Door
3625 Aylmer [map]
Montreal, PQ
Thursday, September 24, 2009

Other featured writers include David Homel, Moe Clark, Jon Paul Fiorentino, Barry Webster and Claude Lalumière.

Doors open at 6:30pm, with readings beginning at 7:00. Admission (at the door) is $5.00.

To order any of Jean-Marc Desgent's or Carole David's Guernica titles, please contact:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Louise Dupré at the Yellow Door

Guernica author Louise Dupré will be reading from her book, The Blueness of Light, at the Yellow Door Poetry and Prose Reading (yellowdoor.org) on Thursday, August 27, 2009.

The Yellow Door
3625 Aylmer [map]
Montreal, PQ
Thursday, August 27, 2009

Other featured writers include Michael Mirolla, Rana Bose, Talleen Hacikyan, David Cavanagh, Jennifer Neri and Louise Dessertine.

Doors open at 7:00pm, with readings beginning at 7:30. Admission (at the door) is $5.00.

To order Louise Dupré's book, the Blueness of Light, please contact:

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Catherine Black at Central

Guernica author Catherine Black will be reading at The Central with David Harry Bateman, Sonia DiPlacido and Melissa Major as part of Plasticine Poetry on Sunday, August 23, 2009.

The Central
603 Markham St. [map]
Toronto, Ontario
Sunday, August 23, 2009

Catherine Black is the author of Lessons of Chaos and Disaster, published by Guernica Editions.

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Desi Di Nardo at Clinton's

Guernica author Desi Di Nardo will be reading at Clinton's with Paulos Ioannou and Lauren Carter as part of the Art Bar Poetry Series on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m.

Clinton's
693 Bloor St. West [map]
Toronto, Ontario
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
8pm

Desi Di Nardo is the author of The Plural of Some Things, published by Guernica Editions.

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Article][Readings] Desi Di Nardo Profiled in Lake Simcoe Living

Guernica author Desi Di Nardo is profiled in the Summer 2009 issue of Lake Simcoe Living. Says Di Nardo, "Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of the time spent outdoors at [Lake Simcoe], and in nearby woodlands. Now, I spend most of my summer at the lake. The themes that are consistent in many of my poems are of nature and animals. Not only do they act as a source of inspiration but, also, I'm intrigued by the interrelatedness of all living things. Many poems in my book emerge from my respect, love and admiration for our striking Canadian wildlife. Lake Simcoe is one of my greatest muses."

Read the full profile online at Lake Simcoe Living: http://www.lakesimcoeliving.com

Di Nardo, author of The Plural of Some Things from Guernica Editions, is scheduled to read in several locations around Lake Simcoe in coming months.

Thursday, July 23, 2009, 1-2pm
Beaverton Public Library
401 Simcoe St., Beaverton, Ontario [map]
705-426-9283

Sunday, July 26, 2009, 2-3pm
Georgina Arts Centre and Gallery
149 High St., Sutton West, Ontario [map]
905-722-9587

Friday, August 14, 2009, 9am
Lake County Literary Lapses
Leacock Museum
50 Museum Dr., Orillia, Ontario [map]
705-835-7061
Please register no later than 8am on the day of the event

Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 7-8pm
Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library
100 Holland Court, Bradford, Ontario [map]
905-775-3328

Thursday, October 22, 2009, 1-2pm
Newmarket Public Library
438 Park Ave., Newmarket, Ontario [map]
905-952-5110

To order The Plural of Some Things:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Desi Di Nardo at Toronto Small Press Book Fair

Guernica author Desi Di Nardo will be at the Toronto Reference Library as part of the Toronto Small Press Group's 2009 Book Fair.

Toronto Reference Library
789 Yonge St. [map]
Toronto, Ontario
Saturday, June 13, 2009
9am to 5pm

To learn more about the Toronto Small Press Group, visit their website or their Facebook group.

Desi Di Nardo is the author of The Plural of Some Things, published by Guernica Editions.

Order Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Melanie Janisse at Naco Gallery

Guernica author Melanie Janisse will be reading on June 4, 2009, at Daddy, an exhibition of Toronto artists held at the Naco Gallery.

Naco Gallery
1665 Dundas St. West [map]
Toronto, Ontario
June 4, 2009, 7:00pm

For more information, call (647) 347-6499 or email nacogallerycafe@gmail.com

[Nomination] Binghampton Univ Names Marisa Labozzetta as Finalist for John Gardner Award

Guernica Editions author Marisa Labozzetta has been named a finalist for the 2009 Binghampton University John Gardner Fiction Book Award for her short story collection, At the Copa. Established in 2002, the John Gardner Fiction Book Award is offered to the author of the strongest novel or fiction collection of the preceding year.

To order a copy of At the Copa, visit your local bookseller or contact one of Guernica Editions' distribution partners:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Readings] Melanie Janisse on Pelee Island

Guernica author Melanie Janisse is scheduled to read this year on Pelee Island.

Heritage Weekend
Pelee Island [map]
June 12 - 14th, 2009

2009 Pelee Island Heritage weekend
Pelee Island [map]
September 11 - 13th, 2009

[Road Trip] Maria Mazziotti Gillan Chosen as 2009 Connecticut Poetry Circuit Touring Poet

Maria Mazziotti Gillan, author of All That Lies Between Us (Guernica Editions, ISBN 978-1-55071-261-2), has been chosen to serve as the Connecticut Poetry Circuit Touring Poet for fall 2009, and will be visiting a series of colleges in Connecticut to read from her poetry and to speak to students.

The Connecticut Poetry Circuit was established in 1968 to continue the work of the New England Poetry Circuit, which was established in 1964 at the request of the Academy of American Poets. The work of the circuit is guided by a panel of poets: Dick Allen, Clare Rossini, Kate Rushin, and Vivian Shipley. Each year the panel nominates outstanding poets, from which one is chosen. Last year’s poet was Kurt Brown.

To order All That Lies Between Us:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

[Interview] Desi Di Nardo in The Toronto Quarterly

Desi Di Nardo, author of The Plural of Some Things, is interviewed in the current edition of The Toronto Quarterly.

"Ask the average Canadian who Don Cherry is and not only would he or she know him, but that person might likely even remember the name of his dog. Ask, on the other hand, who Alice Munro is and it can be hit or miss. Canada is rich in literary talent and it's a shame that talent is not as well-known to the average Canadian."

The full issue can be downloaded from The Toronto Quarterly. Desi's interview appears on pages 12 through 25.

To order The Plural of Some Things:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

Interview: Desi Di Nardo [National Post]

Guernica author Desi Di Nardo is interviewed this week as part of the National Post's celebration of National Poetry Month.

"More and more poetry is reaching people who might otherwise not be readily exposed to it. Not only is the poetical word alive and well but there are more opportunities and venues for performances and readings, a larger number of poets mentoring students in schools, greater community involvement, and much more accessibility for those interested in getting published on the Net."

Read the full interview at the National Post

To order:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)

Reading: Desi Di Nardo at the Smiling Buddha Bar

Guernica author and Now Hear This! writer-in-residence Desi Di Nardo will be reading new work later this month at the Smiling Buddha Bar.

Smiling Buddha Bar
961 College St. (map)
Toronto, Ontario
Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 7:30 pm
Free admission

In Memorium

Daniel Sloate, my friend and editor and translator has passed away.
- Antonio D'Alfonso

Guernica Editions mourns the passing of Daniel Sloate, prolific author, editor and translator. Among his numerous accolades were the Governor General's Award for his translation of Aknos and Other Poems and the F-A Savard Award for his translation of Marie Uguay's Selected Poems: 1975-1981.

Reading: Elana Wolff at the Law Society of Upper Canada

Guernica author Elana Wolff will be reading from her collection Mask at the Law Society of Upper Canada in commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day. The reading will take place during the reception following the panel discussion.

Law Society of Upper Canada
130 Queen St. West, Toronto
(Enter at east doors facing Nathan Phillips Square)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
4pm - 6pm (panel discussion)
6pm - 8pm (reception)

Admission is free, but registration is required to attend. Please contact Rudy Ticzon, Community and Policy Advisor, at 416-947-3413 (long distance: 1-800-668-7380 ext. 3413) or rticzon@lsuc@on.ca.

All That Lies Between Us - One of Monteserrat Review's Best Books of Spring

Maria Mazziotti Gillan's American Book Award-winning book of poetry, All That Lies Between Us (Guernica Editions, ISBN 978-1-55071-261-2), has been chosen as one of the Monteserrat Review's Best Books of Spring 2009.

To order:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)
Direct: Guernica Editions (416-658-9888)

Reading: Jim Johnstone at the Press Club

Guernica author Jim Johnstone will be reading at the Press Club tomorrow night.

The Press Club
850 Dundas Street West (map)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at 8pm
Hosted by Carey Toane

Interview: Desi Di Nardo [Open Book]

Read Open Book's interview with Guernica author Desi Di Nardo as she discusses her recent book of poetry, The Plural of Some Things.

"Writing poetry for me is a highly unconscious and, at times, enigmatic process so I suspect when I am writing about topics which touch on the human experience or the human condition, I’m somehow connecting to different people from various age brackets and backgrounds without being cognizant of who I might be affecting or touching."

Read the full interview at Open Book

To order:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)
Direct: Guernica Editions (416-658-9888)

Readings: Clara Blackwood and Catherine Black at Harbourfront

Guernica authors Clara Blackwood and Catherine Black will be reading at Harbourfront Open Stage Nite on Wednesday, March 25, at 7:30pm.

Harbourfront Centre
Brigantine Room
235 Queens Quay West
Toronto, Ontario

Tickets may be purchased through the Harbourfront box office: http://www.readings.org/?q=main/authors_at_harbourfront_centre_weekly_reading

Readings: Elana Wolff at Hot-Sauced / Art Bar

Guernica author Elana Wolff will be reading at two popular upcoming venues this month.

Hot-Sauced Words
(with Josh Stewart)
Black Swan Tavern
154 Danforth Avenue, 2nd Floor
Toronto, Ontario
March 19, 2009 - 8:10 pm
Free admission

Art Bar Poetry Series
(with Dayle Furlong and Patrick Friesen)
Clinton's
693 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario
March 31, 2009 - 8:00 pm
Free admission

Award: Jim Johnstone [2nd Prize Winner in CBC Literary Awards]

Guernica Editions author Jim Johnstone has won second prize in the 2009 CBC Literary Awards.

In announcing its winners, the jury praised Invertebrate Poems as "a journey of variety: of voice, subject, place, structure, and language. You will be surprised, at every corner, where you end up!"

Johnstone's winning entry will be published in Air Canada’s enRoute Magazine between March and August and read on CBC Radio’s Between the Covers during the week of March 2nd. It will also be available as a podcast on iTunes, cbc.ca/podcasts or cbc.ca/wordsatlarge as of March 4th.

"Poets For Life" Anthology Launch

The Ontario Poetry Society Invites You to Attend the "Poets For Life" Anthology Launch

Sunday, March 22, 2009
Doors open at 1 p.m.
Launch to commence at 1:30 p.m.

Free Admission

Cervejaria Downtown
842 College Street (at Ossington)
Toronto, Ontario Map

Good Mediterranean-style food and snacks available

Introducing poets Allan Briesmaster, Jill Battson, John B. Lee, Katherine L. Gordon, Marty Gervais, Elana Wolff

Featuring The Spring Thaw Raffle Draw

Sponsored By:

Key Porter Books, McClelland & Stewart, Guernica Editions, Insomniac Press, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, The Mercury Press, Descant, Canada Cuba Literary Alliance, Korean-Canadian Literary Forum, HMS Press, Creative Vocalization Studio, Magni Frame, Hidden Brook Press, In Our Words, The Azrieli Foundation, Snowapple Press, Brick Books, Passion Among The Cacti Press & Innersurf International

Many exciting prize packages of brand new books & CDs to win!

Review: Obsessed with Language [Gazette]

The Gazette has reviewed Chantal Bouchard's recently translated book, Obsessed with Language: A Sociolinguistic History of Quebec (Guernica Editions, ISBN 978-1-55071-293-3).

The full review can be read on the Gazette's website: http://tinyurl.com/8t4tvj

Orders:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)
Direct: Guernica Editions (416-658-9888)

Award: Elana Wolff [2008 Bressani Prize]

Guernica Editions is pleased to announce that Elana Wolff’s collection You Speak to Me in Trees has been named the 2008 winner of the Italian Cultural Centre’s biennial F.G. Bressani Literary Prize for poetry. The winning titles in the other three categories are Victoria Miles for her novel, Magnifico, Darlene Madott’s Making Olives for short fiction, and Donna Caruso’s The Clothesline, for creative non-fiction. The Bressani Prize is named for the Jesuit father Francesco Giuseppe Bressani (1612-1672), and was established in 1986 to encourage and honour literary works by Italian authors as well as writers from other backgrounds. Past winners in the poetry category include Carmine Starnino, Fulvio Caccia, Olive Senior, Liliane Welch, Len Gasparini, and John Terpstra. The 2008 awards were presented at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, B.C. on November 20, 2008.

Unusual in their angle on suburban life, the poems in You Speak to Me in Trees take ordinary moments and blend them into recurring dreams, hazy memories, ancient lore, and meditations on nature, artifice, marriage, imagination, and the Jewish experience. Of the Lichen Award winning sequence included in the collection, poet and critic David Solway writes: “The Ketchikan sequence, which attracts by its mature theme and realistic take on experience without lapsing into the prosaic or commonplace, maintains what we might call ‘edge’ via deft control of syntax.”

Elana Wolff divides her time between writing, editing, and facilitating therapeutic art. She has published four books with Guernica: Birdheart (2001), Mask (2003), and You Speak to Me in Trees (2006) — a finalist for the CBC Literary Award for Poetry and for the Acorn-Plantos Award before winning the Bressani Prize, and Slow Dancing: Creativity and Illness, Duologue and Rengas (2008), co-authored with the late Malca Litovitz. Elana’s fifth book with Guernica, Implicate Me— a collection of short essays on contemporary poems of Greater Toronto Area poets— is forthcoming in 2009.

Guernica Editions is a literary publisher established by Antonio D’Alfonso in 1978, and based in Toronto. The press is committed to the publication of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction books that “deal, in one way or another, with the pleasurable understanding of different cultures.” Guernica has published an impressive array of 450 titles, and, taking into account its anthologies, the works of over 800 authors from Canada and around the world. Guernica writers have won numerous national and international awards, including the Pat Lowther Award, the Governor General’s Award, the American Book Award, the Canadian Jewish Book Award, the F.R. Scott Translation Award, and the Bressani Prize, to name a few. Guernica celebrated its 30th anniversary in December, 2008.

Orders:

Online: Amazon.com
Canada: University of Toronto Press Distribution (800-565-9523)
USA: Independent Publishers Group (800-888-4741)
Europe: Gazelle Book Services (0-152-46-87-65)
Direct: Guernica Editions (416-658-9888)