Summer 2020

In this issue, we are very pleased to be able to share with you an in-depth conversation with Winnipeg’s newest Poet Laureate, Duncan Mercredi. Duncan Mercredi is a well-known Indigenous poet and storyteller, and it is a genuine honour to feature his work in this issue. Originally commissioned by the Winnipeg Arts Council upon Duncan’s appointment, an excerpt of this interview appears on their website. In this issue, you will find a fuller treatment of our conversation, along with a wonderful selection of his work.

Also in this issue, you will find the winning entries to the 2019 Young Buck Poetry Prize, introduced by judge Shazia Hafiz Ramji, and including work by Jake Byrne, who took top prize this year. We are also very pleased to present the recipient of the 2019 Lina Chartrand Poetry Award. This year the award went to poet Francine Cunningham for her poem “Blood Quantum,” which you can find here alongside Francine’s artwork that inspired her poem.