Previous Editors
The ACPA would not be what it is today without its former editors. In turn, each of these editors noticed the need and created a passion for Atlantic Canadian Poetry. Much of the work on this archive came from their time and diligence; for that, they deserve recognition.
Below you will find evidence of their love for poetry, their desire to reach other students, and how their time with the ACPA followed them towards their latest endeavors. Take some time to read their stories and appreciate their work for the archive you now find yourself delving into!
Below you will find evidence of their love for poetry, their desire to reach other students, and how their time with the ACPA followed them towards their latest endeavors. Take some time to read their stories and appreciate their work for the archive you now find yourself delving into!
Madi Nadeau
1. What year were you Managing Editor of the ACPA?
I’m the current managing editor of the 2021-2022 academic year.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I’m in my fifth and (hopefully) final year at STU. I am majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and minoring in Psychology, Anthropology and Spanish.
I came to STU intending to get a BA in English and eventually enrol in the Education program. Although I would still like to teach, my course of action has shifted, and I intend to get my TEFL certificate after I graduate this year.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I first interacted with the ACPA in my third-year Advanced Poetry class. Despite this, I only truly discovered my love and admiration for poetry until this past year. When Kathy sent out an email including the job posting, I applied within a few days. Why not combine two of my favourite things - poetry and editing?
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I love that I’m working in a field that I’m confident in. I think that editing is a skill that I have greatly improved over the past four years I’ve spent at STU, and I’m excited to be applying it professionally.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
I think it’s a great way for readers to discover Atlantic Canadian Poets! The website yields both older and emerging poets, with great analyses on select pieces from students. It’s not only a good resource for discovering poetry but also for research.
I’m the current managing editor of the 2021-2022 academic year.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I’m in my fifth and (hopefully) final year at STU. I am majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and minoring in Psychology, Anthropology and Spanish.
I came to STU intending to get a BA in English and eventually enrol in the Education program. Although I would still like to teach, my course of action has shifted, and I intend to get my TEFL certificate after I graduate this year.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I first interacted with the ACPA in my third-year Advanced Poetry class. Despite this, I only truly discovered my love and admiration for poetry until this past year. When Kathy sent out an email including the job posting, I applied within a few days. Why not combine two of my favourite things - poetry and editing?
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I love that I’m working in a field that I’m confident in. I think that editing is a skill that I have greatly improved over the past four years I’ve spent at STU, and I’m excited to be applying it professionally.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
I think it’s a great way for readers to discover Atlantic Canadian Poets! The website yields both older and emerging poets, with great analyses on select pieces from students. It’s not only a good resource for discovering poetry but also for research.
Caelin Sullivan
1. What year were you Managing Editor of the ACPA?
I was the managing editior in the 2020-2021 academic year.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I am in my fourth and final year at STU. I am Honouring in English Language and Literature with a Concentration in Creative Writing, Majoring in Women & Gender Studies and Minoring in Sociology. I am also working as a Peer Tutor for the English department, and a Research Assistant for the Sociology department.
I came to STU with the intent to study creative writing, and that is still what I am pursuing. Kathy has really inspired me to become the best writer I can be, and always push myself. I have been accepted to the Master of Arts in English (Public Texts) program at Trent University. Once I finish my graduate degree, I hope to use the experience I gain at my internship during my MA to get a job as an editor full-time in the publishing industry.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I discovered the ACPA in my second year at STU in my Creative Writing Skills course, when Kathy tasked us with finding a poem on the website and writing a poem inspired by it. I worked with Triny Finlay's "Abstract Loss, 5." The archive excited me, because I had recently attended Poetry Weekend at UNB, and I could find the works of the poets I had heard read, and learn more about them. I encountered the ACPA again last year, in my Advanced Poetry Workshop course, where we had an assignment to write an entry for the website. I wrote the entry on Liliane Welch! I was really excited by this assignment because I felt like I was able to make Welch and her work more easily available to students, and poetry lovers in general, and that's what I hope to be able to do as the managing editor.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I love that I am working in my field, and that I am able to take all the skills I have compiled over my four years at STU and that they culminate in my effort on this project. I am able to employ my academic writing skills as well as the editing skills that I have learned as a creative writing student, and pour these into something I am passionate about. I am really honoured to be able to share the work of the most incredible Atlantic poets, many of whom I have had the honour to hear read before at UNB's Poetry Weekend or the Annual Atlantic Undergraduate English Conferences, and some who I have even been classmates with at STU. These people are really incredible.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
The ACPA is more than just a resource for students. It's also a place to find out more about the poetry scene in Atlantic Canada. The Atlantic Canadian experience is very unique, and shapes us all in different ways. I think this is very present in poets' biographies, and their works. I also think the ACPA is special because there's such a range of poets represented here, from the older and more well-known poets' to young poets just emerging on the scene. As well, the ACPA uses student contributions, which I think is so important because it gives students like me and my classmates the opportunity to have a critical publications to our names.
I was the managing editior in the 2020-2021 academic year.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I am in my fourth and final year at STU. I am Honouring in English Language and Literature with a Concentration in Creative Writing, Majoring in Women & Gender Studies and Minoring in Sociology. I am also working as a Peer Tutor for the English department, and a Research Assistant for the Sociology department.
I came to STU with the intent to study creative writing, and that is still what I am pursuing. Kathy has really inspired me to become the best writer I can be, and always push myself. I have been accepted to the Master of Arts in English (Public Texts) program at Trent University. Once I finish my graduate degree, I hope to use the experience I gain at my internship during my MA to get a job as an editor full-time in the publishing industry.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I discovered the ACPA in my second year at STU in my Creative Writing Skills course, when Kathy tasked us with finding a poem on the website and writing a poem inspired by it. I worked with Triny Finlay's "Abstract Loss, 5." The archive excited me, because I had recently attended Poetry Weekend at UNB, and I could find the works of the poets I had heard read, and learn more about them. I encountered the ACPA again last year, in my Advanced Poetry Workshop course, where we had an assignment to write an entry for the website. I wrote the entry on Liliane Welch! I was really excited by this assignment because I felt like I was able to make Welch and her work more easily available to students, and poetry lovers in general, and that's what I hope to be able to do as the managing editor.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I love that I am working in my field, and that I am able to take all the skills I have compiled over my four years at STU and that they culminate in my effort on this project. I am able to employ my academic writing skills as well as the editing skills that I have learned as a creative writing student, and pour these into something I am passionate about. I am really honoured to be able to share the work of the most incredible Atlantic poets, many of whom I have had the honour to hear read before at UNB's Poetry Weekend or the Annual Atlantic Undergraduate English Conferences, and some who I have even been classmates with at STU. These people are really incredible.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
The ACPA is more than just a resource for students. It's also a place to find out more about the poetry scene in Atlantic Canada. The Atlantic Canadian experience is very unique, and shapes us all in different ways. I think this is very present in poets' biographies, and their works. I also think the ACPA is special because there's such a range of poets represented here, from the older and more well-known poets' to young poets just emerging on the scene. As well, the ACPA uses student contributions, which I think is so important because it gives students like me and my classmates the opportunity to have a critical publications to our names.
Jamie Kitts
1. What year were you Managing Editor of the ACPA?
May 2018-August 2020.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
When I started working here, I was going into my final year at STU, majoring in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing and minoring in Communications and Public Policy. While I was at STU, I completed a novel draft for National Novel Writing Month 2016, and began work on a separate novel for my Independent Project in Creative Writing -- an excerpt of which won STU's David Adams Richards for Prose in 2018.
I've since graduated, and I've also completed a Certificate of Honours Standing in English. That was supposed to be a pretty low-key, low stress school year but it ended up being one of the hardest things I think I've ever done! I did an independent study on some of the texts which inspired Henry Thoreau based on a research paper I wrote years ago on Walden, a game. I'm taking a gap year, but that research project is going to inform the work I hope to do as a grad student.
Working for the ACPA helped me establish a presence as an occasional freelance writer who specializes in digital media analysis. I've had the great pleasure of meeting student-writers and holding long conversations with them about art and living, some of which you can read in this website's blog, but most of which started during the day and ended the next morning. I've also worked as a teaching assistant, research assistant, and writing tutor.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
My job before this was as a writing tutor at STU's Writing Centre. I found that I really loved reading academic papers, no matter what the subject. That blended really well with my experience workshopping other students' work in Creative Writing classes. But part of the ACPA's allure for me was the mystery: poetry was always inaccessible to me. That's not to say I hadn't read poetry, but academic poetry analysis was almost new territory for me. What this gave me was an opportunity to learn about poetry analysis, and a license to engage with cultural traditions and artistic genius.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
This is a scenario where I have all the tools I need to survive -- I know how to write, how to critique writing, how to research, etc. It's just me, a stack of papers, my red pen, and an editorial mandate to make these entries look as good as they possibly can. What I got out of tutoring was giving other students the push they needed for stronger writing and thinking, which in a lot of cases was about drawing out what those students were already capable of. But this is a position where I can help those who are already strong writers celebrate their abilities.
The other most enjoyable thing is that I'm pulling from both my major and my minor for relevant skills. While the English field often demands lengthy papers, the entries we receive for the ACPA have a 1000-word maximum. This means that entries need to be in-depth and concise, and concision is what the Communications field is all about. These papers need to be tight, and I love that added layer of difficulty. They've got to be good, and they've got to be short. This is the kind of challenge that I love to overcome.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
Fredericton, New Brunswick is my home, and if I can help it I will never leave this place. A while back I had a talk with someone around my age about differing motivations for leaving Atlantic Canada. This is a bit reductive of the conversation, but basically, this person and their friends all felt like New Brunswick was something to leave, whereas some of my friends and I grew up trying to cling to it as much as possible. At the core of both views there is an agreement that something is lacking, that in our own ways we are unfulfilled here. I think that the ACPA is in a unique position to convey this dichotomy by providing a platform for not only the poems of Atlantic Canada, but the inter-generational conversation between poets of different eras and the students who analyze this poetry.
I think that, like my dad's work with East Coast music, the work done here demonstrates the unique perspectives about art and living in this place. There's not only a difference in scale between Atlantic Canada and other Canadian regions, but a difference in kind: there's a feeling with odd persistence throughout the region, but there are also shifts in tone from town to town and province to province. I think it's fascinating to watch people tackle the same subject from different angles. A lot of content here is trying to reconcile a place in several layers of culture and world.
Jamie Kitts is a writer from Fredericton, New Brunswick. You can find more of their writing under the name Evan Mersereau.
May 2018-August 2020.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
When I started working here, I was going into my final year at STU, majoring in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing and minoring in Communications and Public Policy. While I was at STU, I completed a novel draft for National Novel Writing Month 2016, and began work on a separate novel for my Independent Project in Creative Writing -- an excerpt of which won STU's David Adams Richards for Prose in 2018.
I've since graduated, and I've also completed a Certificate of Honours Standing in English. That was supposed to be a pretty low-key, low stress school year but it ended up being one of the hardest things I think I've ever done! I did an independent study on some of the texts which inspired Henry Thoreau based on a research paper I wrote years ago on Walden, a game. I'm taking a gap year, but that research project is going to inform the work I hope to do as a grad student.
Working for the ACPA helped me establish a presence as an occasional freelance writer who specializes in digital media analysis. I've had the great pleasure of meeting student-writers and holding long conversations with them about art and living, some of which you can read in this website's blog, but most of which started during the day and ended the next morning. I've also worked as a teaching assistant, research assistant, and writing tutor.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
My job before this was as a writing tutor at STU's Writing Centre. I found that I really loved reading academic papers, no matter what the subject. That blended really well with my experience workshopping other students' work in Creative Writing classes. But part of the ACPA's allure for me was the mystery: poetry was always inaccessible to me. That's not to say I hadn't read poetry, but academic poetry analysis was almost new territory for me. What this gave me was an opportunity to learn about poetry analysis, and a license to engage with cultural traditions and artistic genius.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
This is a scenario where I have all the tools I need to survive -- I know how to write, how to critique writing, how to research, etc. It's just me, a stack of papers, my red pen, and an editorial mandate to make these entries look as good as they possibly can. What I got out of tutoring was giving other students the push they needed for stronger writing and thinking, which in a lot of cases was about drawing out what those students were already capable of. But this is a position where I can help those who are already strong writers celebrate their abilities.
The other most enjoyable thing is that I'm pulling from both my major and my minor for relevant skills. While the English field often demands lengthy papers, the entries we receive for the ACPA have a 1000-word maximum. This means that entries need to be in-depth and concise, and concision is what the Communications field is all about. These papers need to be tight, and I love that added layer of difficulty. They've got to be good, and they've got to be short. This is the kind of challenge that I love to overcome.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
Fredericton, New Brunswick is my home, and if I can help it I will never leave this place. A while back I had a talk with someone around my age about differing motivations for leaving Atlantic Canada. This is a bit reductive of the conversation, but basically, this person and their friends all felt like New Brunswick was something to leave, whereas some of my friends and I grew up trying to cling to it as much as possible. At the core of both views there is an agreement that something is lacking, that in our own ways we are unfulfilled here. I think that the ACPA is in a unique position to convey this dichotomy by providing a platform for not only the poems of Atlantic Canada, but the inter-generational conversation between poets of different eras and the students who analyze this poetry.
I think that, like my dad's work with East Coast music, the work done here demonstrates the unique perspectives about art and living in this place. There's not only a difference in scale between Atlantic Canada and other Canadian regions, but a difference in kind: there's a feeling with odd persistence throughout the region, but there are also shifts in tone from town to town and province to province. I think it's fascinating to watch people tackle the same subject from different angles. A lot of content here is trying to reconcile a place in several layers of culture and world.
Jamie Kitts is a writer from Fredericton, New Brunswick. You can find more of their writing under the name Evan Mersereau.
Kathleen Pond
1. What year were you Managing Editor of the ACPA?
I am Managing Editor of the ACPA for 2017.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I will be starting my fourth year at St. Thomas in the fall (2017). I am studying English Honours with a Concentration in Creative Writing, with a minor in Irish Studies. As for where it will take me, I’m not completely sure yet – I’m currently torn between going on to Masters, going into Library Sciences, or even going into publishing. Anything that brings me into contact with books, or literature, is a path I’ll consider taking!
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
It’s difficult to find critical analyses of Atlantic Canadian literature – and finding peer-reviewed articles is something of a rarity. So when I found out from Dr. Kathleen McConnell that the ACPA was created – in part – to remedy this, I was intrigued. I’ve always found it amazing when someone says “Oh, this doesn’t exist yet? I guess we’ll just have to make it ourselves, then.” This, I suppose, is how many things get invented. Yet it never ceases to amaze.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
One thing I really enjoy about editing the ACPA is the process of compiling the entries. Fact checking, source finding, tracking down the people who hold permissions for a poem – it’s like one giant mystery, and I’m the detective. Not to mention the fact that I enjoy spelling and grammar.
Another part that I enjoy about editing the ACPA is that I get to encounter so many great poems that I may not have found out about otherwise, plus I end up learning a lot about so many great poets.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
The ACPA offers the opportunity for discovery. The discovery of a new favourite poet, a new collection of poetry to read, even a new interpretation of a poem you already know. The site allows you to easily explore the poetry of Atlantic Canada while giving students (and other contributors) a chance at putting academic work out there and getting it published on a publicly available platform. It’s an incredible resource – both for students and other visitors to the site.
I am Managing Editor of the ACPA for 2017.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I will be starting my fourth year at St. Thomas in the fall (2017). I am studying English Honours with a Concentration in Creative Writing, with a minor in Irish Studies. As for where it will take me, I’m not completely sure yet – I’m currently torn between going on to Masters, going into Library Sciences, or even going into publishing. Anything that brings me into contact with books, or literature, is a path I’ll consider taking!
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
It’s difficult to find critical analyses of Atlantic Canadian literature – and finding peer-reviewed articles is something of a rarity. So when I found out from Dr. Kathleen McConnell that the ACPA was created – in part – to remedy this, I was intrigued. I’ve always found it amazing when someone says “Oh, this doesn’t exist yet? I guess we’ll just have to make it ourselves, then.” This, I suppose, is how many things get invented. Yet it never ceases to amaze.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
One thing I really enjoy about editing the ACPA is the process of compiling the entries. Fact checking, source finding, tracking down the people who hold permissions for a poem – it’s like one giant mystery, and I’m the detective. Not to mention the fact that I enjoy spelling and grammar.
Another part that I enjoy about editing the ACPA is that I get to encounter so many great poems that I may not have found out about otherwise, plus I end up learning a lot about so many great poets.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
The ACPA offers the opportunity for discovery. The discovery of a new favourite poet, a new collection of poetry to read, even a new interpretation of a poem you already know. The site allows you to easily explore the poetry of Atlantic Canada while giving students (and other contributors) a chance at putting academic work out there and getting it published on a publicly available platform. It’s an incredible resource – both for students and other visitors to the site.
Monica Grasse
1. What year were you Managing Editor of the ACPA?
I Managed the ACPA from May to August of 2015.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I am currently in my last year of study at STU, pursuing a B.A. in English Honours with Minors in French and Psychology. I plan on furthering my B.A. by using my skills in STU’s Education program. Working as the ACPA Managing Editor helped develop my skills as a reader and writer, which I know will benefit my education, and someday, my class full of eager high school English students!
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I was first introduced to the ACPA when I took Dr. Kathleen McConnell’s Contemporary Atlantic Canadian Poetry Honours Seminar (English 4426) at STU. And to be honest? Nothing about that course initially intrigued me. As Honours students, we had two choices of seminars – and I had chosen the other one. But when time can to register, the other course had quickly filled, so my advisor had no other choice than to stick me with some poetry. But if I am again honest, this was one of the greatest mix ups STU has ever offered me! After taking Dr. McConnell’s class, I have grown to love the diversity of Atlantic Canadian Poetry and find myself constantly checking for poets’ newest publications.
But back to the ACPA: in ENGL 4426, we had two ACPA assignments where we had to write an ACPA entry to be graded and put on the website. So, my first exposure to the ACPA was slightly stressful since it was the first assignment I had in my Honours career. However, once I began researching and developing ideas for the entry, I really was intrigued towards the diversity of poets found on the archive and I wanted to find a poet similarly unique so as to further the archive’s depth.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I enjoyed that while editing the ACPA I was given full permission to read as much poetry as I wanted! Because editing requires that every entry is as accurate as possible, I spent time reading about the poets and their various works to critically check the submitted entries. Again, this furthered my understanding of the archive’s diversity, which in turn increased my appreciation for it.
Similarly, I love seeing the diversity in student writing. There have been many entries where I read the poem, then the critical analysis, and was either surprised or impressed on the interpretation offered. Some entries were extremely well written while others caused be to stop and question the author’s interpretation, re-visit the poem, and then change my perspective. When my initial perception of a work is challenged, it signals to me that the author has stated their case strongly and with confidence. Not only does this provide me with fun reading, but it inspires me to teach the next generation of writers (my future students as an English teacher) to analyze, think critically, and effectively express their opinion.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
As students, this archive is an amazing resource to get you started on your research of Atlantic Canadian Poetry. It will provide you with new interpretations of poems, further your critical analysis skills, and introduce you to works you may have otherwise never read.
As visitors of the site, this archive provides you with exciting material to read! Whether you are an Atlantic Canadian or not, recognizing the value of this work is the main goal of the ACPA, and you taking the time to read such work is the first step towards accomplishing the archive’s purpose.
As contributors to the site, you should be proud of the hard work you put in not only to your entry, but to the archive as a whole. You know what it means to research and write on an accomplished poet, so take some time to read the entries of your fellow students. You never know what kind of inspiration they will give you!
I Managed the ACPA from May to August of 2015.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I am currently in my last year of study at STU, pursuing a B.A. in English Honours with Minors in French and Psychology. I plan on furthering my B.A. by using my skills in STU’s Education program. Working as the ACPA Managing Editor helped develop my skills as a reader and writer, which I know will benefit my education, and someday, my class full of eager high school English students!
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I was first introduced to the ACPA when I took Dr. Kathleen McConnell’s Contemporary Atlantic Canadian Poetry Honours Seminar (English 4426) at STU. And to be honest? Nothing about that course initially intrigued me. As Honours students, we had two choices of seminars – and I had chosen the other one. But when time can to register, the other course had quickly filled, so my advisor had no other choice than to stick me with some poetry. But if I am again honest, this was one of the greatest mix ups STU has ever offered me! After taking Dr. McConnell’s class, I have grown to love the diversity of Atlantic Canadian Poetry and find myself constantly checking for poets’ newest publications.
But back to the ACPA: in ENGL 4426, we had two ACPA assignments where we had to write an ACPA entry to be graded and put on the website. So, my first exposure to the ACPA was slightly stressful since it was the first assignment I had in my Honours career. However, once I began researching and developing ideas for the entry, I really was intrigued towards the diversity of poets found on the archive and I wanted to find a poet similarly unique so as to further the archive’s depth.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I enjoyed that while editing the ACPA I was given full permission to read as much poetry as I wanted! Because editing requires that every entry is as accurate as possible, I spent time reading about the poets and their various works to critically check the submitted entries. Again, this furthered my understanding of the archive’s diversity, which in turn increased my appreciation for it.
Similarly, I love seeing the diversity in student writing. There have been many entries where I read the poem, then the critical analysis, and was either surprised or impressed on the interpretation offered. Some entries were extremely well written while others caused be to stop and question the author’s interpretation, re-visit the poem, and then change my perspective. When my initial perception of a work is challenged, it signals to me that the author has stated their case strongly and with confidence. Not only does this provide me with fun reading, but it inspires me to teach the next generation of writers (my future students as an English teacher) to analyze, think critically, and effectively express their opinion.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA has to offer?
As students, this archive is an amazing resource to get you started on your research of Atlantic Canadian Poetry. It will provide you with new interpretations of poems, further your critical analysis skills, and introduce you to works you may have otherwise never read.
As visitors of the site, this archive provides you with exciting material to read! Whether you are an Atlantic Canadian or not, recognizing the value of this work is the main goal of the ACPA, and you taking the time to read such work is the first step towards accomplishing the archive’s purpose.
As contributors to the site, you should be proud of the hard work you put in not only to your entry, but to the archive as a whole. You know what it means to research and write on an accomplished poet, so take some time to read the entries of your fellow students. You never know what kind of inspiration they will give you!
Patrick O'Reilly
1. What year were you Managing Editor of the ACPA?
I served as co-managing editor for the ACPA from September 2012 to May 2013 with Nicholas Geldart; I believe Lisa was editor for that summer, and I returned when the ACPA recommenced in the winter of 2014.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
With Katie Cameron, I was one of the first students to graduate from STU with a Honours degree in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing (kinda a mouthful); since then, I've begun my MFA in writing at the University of Saskatchewan, and started on something of a career in literature, writing book reviews for Numéro Cinq and the occasional poem here and there.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I was with the ACPA from the beginning – Lisa Banks and I began seeing each other while she was in the seminar from which the ACPA was derived, and I remember her speaking very excitedly about this project "that maybe we might do." There were a number of things I was excited by - first, that any effort to make poetry and criticism more widely available is good idea, and likewise any forum for undergrads to get some writing, editing, and publishing experience. I liked that it was online - I knew that Atlantic Canadian poetry was broader and deeper than even we realized at the time, and evolving more constantly than anyone realized, and I knew whatever they did would have to be expansible. Most of all, I was just glad someone was making a really concerted effort to create and encyclopedic anthology of Atlantic Canadian poetry (wading into the debate about what that was fun for me - I personally take the opinion that certain Viking sagas are Atlantic Canadian poetry, but I doubt most would agree), which had never been done. It felt very, very groundbreaking to us - and I suppose it still does.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I was grateful for the opportunity to get some real-world experience copy-editing - the grammatical/syntactic element even more than the actual academic content - and that has served me well as a critic and poet. More than the actual editing of submissions, I liked putting together the "extra-textual apparatuses" of the ACPA - the "Compendium" of Atlantic Canadian poets was my baby, and I loved finding obscure, but eligible writers; in fact, I'm currently working with a poet whom I first encountered through digging up poets for the compendium - small world.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA offers?
The biggest reason is that it's the only place to find these materials - poetry in Canada continues to be pretty fractured and regionalised, and as such, Atlantic Canadian poetry tends to get overlooked or neglected; the ACPA provides, even now, the broadest, most diverse, collection of Atlantic Canadian poetry and criticism. I don't know of anything that has been more comprehensive in that regard. Beyond that, I think it’s just a fun place, and a great opportunity for students to dip their toes into the critical waters and gain some experience.
I served as co-managing editor for the ACPA from September 2012 to May 2013 with Nicholas Geldart; I believe Lisa was editor for that summer, and I returned when the ACPA recommenced in the winter of 2014.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
With Katie Cameron, I was one of the first students to graduate from STU with a Honours degree in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing (kinda a mouthful); since then, I've begun my MFA in writing at the University of Saskatchewan, and started on something of a career in literature, writing book reviews for Numéro Cinq and the occasional poem here and there.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I was with the ACPA from the beginning – Lisa Banks and I began seeing each other while she was in the seminar from which the ACPA was derived, and I remember her speaking very excitedly about this project "that maybe we might do." There were a number of things I was excited by - first, that any effort to make poetry and criticism more widely available is good idea, and likewise any forum for undergrads to get some writing, editing, and publishing experience. I liked that it was online - I knew that Atlantic Canadian poetry was broader and deeper than even we realized at the time, and evolving more constantly than anyone realized, and I knew whatever they did would have to be expansible. Most of all, I was just glad someone was making a really concerted effort to create and encyclopedic anthology of Atlantic Canadian poetry (wading into the debate about what that was fun for me - I personally take the opinion that certain Viking sagas are Atlantic Canadian poetry, but I doubt most would agree), which had never been done. It felt very, very groundbreaking to us - and I suppose it still does.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
I was grateful for the opportunity to get some real-world experience copy-editing - the grammatical/syntactic element even more than the actual academic content - and that has served me well as a critic and poet. More than the actual editing of submissions, I liked putting together the "extra-textual apparatuses" of the ACPA - the "Compendium" of Atlantic Canadian poets was my baby, and I loved finding obscure, but eligible writers; in fact, I'm currently working with a poet whom I first encountered through digging up poets for the compendium - small world.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA offers?
The biggest reason is that it's the only place to find these materials - poetry in Canada continues to be pretty fractured and regionalised, and as such, Atlantic Canadian poetry tends to get overlooked or neglected; the ACPA provides, even now, the broadest, most diverse, collection of Atlantic Canadian poetry and criticism. I don't know of anything that has been more comprehensive in that regard. Beyond that, I think it’s just a fun place, and a great opportunity for students to dip their toes into the critical waters and gain some experience.
Allyson Groves
1. What year were you Managing Editor of the ACPA?
I was managing editor for the 2011-2012 school year.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I graduated in 2012 with a B.A. (Honours) in English with Minors in Criminology and Psychology. I also took a handful of classes in the Multimedia Studies (now called Media Arts and Cultures) program at UNB. After I graduated, I moved to Toronto where I completed the post-grad Certificate of Publishing program at Ryerson University. While in that program, I did a short stint as an intern and then served as contracts assistant at The Bukowski Agency, a literary agency based out of Toronto. I also did a term as the Merchandising Intern at Kobo Inc. Following my internship at Kobo, I got hired in their Publisher Operations department as a coordinator for UK, AU, NZ, IN, PH, and RoW. I currently work at Kobo as the Publisher Operations Specialist for North and South America. I'm also a freelance editor in my spare time.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I've always loved poetry, and so when the Atlantic Canadian Women Poets seminar came up when I was in my 3rd year, I jumped at the chance. It was in that class that we realized there was a dearth of information and critical work done on Atlantic Canadian poetry, and that since we had the expertise and were working on the critical writing, perhaps we should start that conversation. Plus, I knew at that point that I wanted to work in publishing, so it seemed like a great way to kind of poke around in the industry and get experience. It also seemed like a fun way to combine my love of poetry and editing with my digital skills and experience working in digital and web media.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
As one of the original founders, I was the managing editor who built the actual website from the ground up, so that was really rewarding. The experience of working with the communications department to come up with a format and then physically moving the information from word documents to an actual website and making it pretty was exciting. And of course, actually sitting down and editing the submissions was incredible. The combination of digital site building and actually hammering out the content was such a great experience, and has definitely paved the way for the things I've gone on to do in my career.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA offers?
I think if you read the original mission statement (if you'd call it that) of the ACPA, you'll get a pretty good sense of the value I saw in the project, and I definitely still see it that way. Atlantic Canada has some of the best poetry Canada has to offer, and I think that a lot of it becomes lumped together in the same old categories people have come to expect of Canadian literature. The ACPA offers a look at the variety of stories our poets have to tell, and the incredible diversity of literature in the area. I also think it's a really great resource for other undergrads to jump in and learn more about poetry, and help them find those other resources that do exist, because it can be hard. We already did the work once, so why not help others out, right?
I was managing editor for the 2011-2012 school year.
2. What did you study (are currently studying) at STU? Where did that take you (will take you)?
I graduated in 2012 with a B.A. (Honours) in English with Minors in Criminology and Psychology. I also took a handful of classes in the Multimedia Studies (now called Media Arts and Cultures) program at UNB. After I graduated, I moved to Toronto where I completed the post-grad Certificate of Publishing program at Ryerson University. While in that program, I did a short stint as an intern and then served as contracts assistant at The Bukowski Agency, a literary agency based out of Toronto. I also did a term as the Merchandising Intern at Kobo Inc. Following my internship at Kobo, I got hired in their Publisher Operations department as a coordinator for UK, AU, NZ, IN, PH, and RoW. I currently work at Kobo as the Publisher Operations Specialist for North and South America. I'm also a freelance editor in my spare time.
3. What intrigued you about the ACPA?
I've always loved poetry, and so when the Atlantic Canadian Women Poets seminar came up when I was in my 3rd year, I jumped at the chance. It was in that class that we realized there was a dearth of information and critical work done on Atlantic Canadian poetry, and that since we had the expertise and were working on the critical writing, perhaps we should start that conversation. Plus, I knew at that point that I wanted to work in publishing, so it seemed like a great way to kind of poke around in the industry and get experience. It also seemed like a fun way to combine my love of poetry and editing with my digital skills and experience working in digital and web media.
4. What did you enjoy most about editing the ACPA?
As one of the original founders, I was the managing editor who built the actual website from the ground up, so that was really rewarding. The experience of working with the communications department to come up with a format and then physically moving the information from word documents to an actual website and making it pretty was exciting. And of course, actually sitting down and editing the submissions was incredible. The combination of digital site building and actually hammering out the content was such a great experience, and has definitely paved the way for the things I've gone on to do in my career.
5. Why should people be interested in what the ACPA offers?
I think if you read the original mission statement (if you'd call it that) of the ACPA, you'll get a pretty good sense of the value I saw in the project, and I definitely still see it that way. Atlantic Canada has some of the best poetry Canada has to offer, and I think that a lot of it becomes lumped together in the same old categories people have come to expect of Canadian literature. The ACPA offers a look at the variety of stories our poets have to tell, and the incredible diversity of literature in the area. I also think it's a really great resource for other undergrads to jump in and learn more about poetry, and help them find those other resources that do exist, because it can be hard. We already did the work once, so why not help others out, right?
