Arc Poetry Magazine

Arc Poetry Magazine Arc Poetry Magazine is a quarterly Canadian literary magazine focused on contemporary poetry, criticism, and book reviews. Founded in Ottawa, it has published emerging and established poets, critics, and translators connected to Canadian and international poetic communities. The magazine has been involved with national awards, festivals, and educational initiatives, contributing to the visibility of poets across Canada and beyond.

History

Founded in 1978 by a cohort of Ottawa writers and editors, the magazine emerged alongside other Canadian literary outlets such as Canadian Literature (journal), Grain (magazine), The Malahat Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Fiddlehead. Early issues featured poets who later appeared in anthologies alongside names like Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje, and P.K. Page. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the magazine navigated shifts similar to those experienced by The New Yorker, Poetry (magazine), The Paris Review, and regional journals including Arcadia (magazine), expanding from local readings to national distribution. The publication adapted to changes in funding landscapes influenced by bodies such as Canada Council for the Arts and provincial arts councils, and engaged with translation communities linked to organizations like Literary Translators' Association of Canada and institutions such as Library and Archives Canada.

Editorial Structure and Contributors

The editorial collective model has included editors, guest editors, fiction and poetry readers, and advisory board members with links to universities and presses such as Carleton University, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia, Queen’s University, University of Alberta Press, and McClelland & Stewart. Regular contributors have included poets, critics, and translators who also appear in outlets like The Globe and Mail, National Post, The Walrus, RBC Poetry Prize-associated publications, and international journals such as London Review of Books, Boston Review, and Ploughshares. The magazine’s editorial decisions often intersect with poetry societies and organizations like Poets' Forum, League of Canadian Poets, Writers' Union of Canada, and festival programming at Ottawa Writers Festival and Toronto International Festival of Authors.

Notable Issues and Series

The magazine has produced themed issues and special series that showcased work related to movements and figures including Confessional poetry, Modernism, Postmodernism, and dialogues with poets connected to Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney, Earle Birney, Dionne Brand, bpNichol, George Elliott Clarke, Derek Walcott, and Anne Carson. Special sections have highlighted translations of work from languages associated with communities represented by institutions such as Institut Français, Goethe-Institut, and embassies and cultural councils that sponsor cross-cultural issues also featuring poets linked to presses like House of Anansi and Coach House Books. Anniversary and milestone issues have archived essays, bibliographies, and retrospectives referencing literary historians and critics from Northrop Frye, Helen Vendler, Harold Bloom, Christopher Ricks, and scholars at centers such as Trent University and York University.

Awards and Recognition

Work published in the magazine has been shortlisted for and won prizes including the Governor General's Awards, Griffin Poetry Prize, Lambda Literary Awards, Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, Pat Lowther Award, The ReLit Awards, and recognition from bodies like Canada Council for the Arts and provincial arts prizes. Individual contributors have received fellowships and prizes tied to institutions such as MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Hnatyshyn Foundation, and national distinctions including appointments to orders like Order of Canada and provincial honors. The magazine itself has been cited in bibliographies and histories alongside landmark publications such as A History of Canadian Poetry and has served as a platform for work later anthologized in collections like The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse.

Community Engagement and Events

The magazine organizes readings, workshops, and panels in collaboration with festivals and venues including Ottawa International Writers Festival, Toronto International Festival of Authors, Word on the Street, Blue Metropolis, Capilano University Poet-in-Residence programs, and community spaces such as Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre and university auditoriums at University of Ottawa. Educational outreach has involved partnerships with public libraries like Ottawa Public Library and youth programs aligned with arts councils and cultural institutions such as National Arts Centre and embassy cultural sections. Special events have featured poets in conversation with editors and critics who also participate in juries for prizes associated with organizations like Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry and panels sponsored by publishers including McClelland & Stewart and Brick Books.

Category:Canadian literary magazines Category:Quarterly magazines published in Canada