Canthius is an Ottawa-bases
magazine that publishes poetry and prose by women, transgender, nonbinary,
Two-Spirit, and genderqueer/gender non-conforming writers. The magazine is
published bi-annually on the unceded territory of the Anishinaabeg and the
traditional territory of the Ojibway and the Mississaugas of the New Credit.
Chuqiao Yang’s
writing has appeared in various magazines. In 2011, she was the recipient of
two Western Magazine Awards for a non-fiction piece, “Beijing Notes.” In 2015,
she was a finalist for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. Her
chapbook, Reunions in the Year of the Sheep, published by Baseline
Press, won the 2018 bpNichol Chapbook Award.
Q:
Tell me about your journal. How long have you been publishing, and what got you
started?
Canthius came to be after a few
like-minded friends started chatting one evening in 2015 about the lack of
gender equity and diversity in the literary community. At the time, we were
aware of fantastic organizations and journals that encouraged focused on
creating spaces for marginalized writers (shout-outs loud and clear to the
CWILA, Room, Plenitude, and From the Zoot!) and we wanted
to be part of that community.
We
come from a diversity of backgrounds, and we recognize that we need to
regularly self-reflect on the direction our magazine takes, and check our own
biases and privileges in the process to do that which is definitely to say the
least, a humbling but necessary process.
There
is beautiful, incredible work out there, and we want to celebrate that work
respectfully. We strive to provide a safe and welcoming space for underrepresented
writers and artists; inclusivity is a priority for our magazine.
Q:
How many times have you exhibited at the ottawa small press fair? How do you
find the experience?
We’ve
been in attendance almost every year and it’s always been a blast. It’s such a
welcoming community and a much appreciated opportunity to meet small press
publishers around the country.
Q: Would
you have made something specific for this spring’s fair? Are you still doing
that? How does the lack of spring fair this year effect how or what you might
be producing?
We were in
the process of putting together Issue 08 and so excited to debut the work of
the poets who were the recipients of the inaugural Priscila Uppal Memorial Award for Poetry. Unfortunately, printing is now at a standstill with the hope
that we will reconvene productions at some point this summer for a late fall
launch. Everyone’s health and safety is our priority right now so pushing back
productions, while not ideal, is worth it.
Q: How are
you, as a small publisher, approaching the myriad shut-downs? Is everything on
hold, or are you pushing against the silences, whether in similar or alternate
ways than you might have prior to the pandemic? How are you getting your
publications out into the world?
Things are
on hold right now but we continue to post articles by writers we love, and hope
that we can use our platform to bring awareness to the racism and violence
taking place in the world right now.
Q: Have
you done anything in terms of online or virtual launches since the pandemic
began? Have you attended or participated in others? How are you attempting to
connect to the larger literary community?
We try to
stay connected through our social media and our community networks. We’ve
watched a few virtual launches too, which has been great too.
Q: Has the
pandemic forced you to rethink anything in terms of production? Are there
supplies or printers you haven’t had access to during these times that have
forced a shift in what and how you produce?
Productions
for Issue 08 are in the process, stay tuned!
Q: What is
your most recent issue? How might folks be able to order copies?
Issue 07 is
available online at http://canthius.com/subscribe features the works of Barâa Arar, Margaret Christakos, Allie
Duff, M. Brett Gaffney, Jesse Holth, Émilie Kneifel, Kirby, Annick MacAskill,
Natalia Orasanin, Terese Mason Pierre, Pearl Pirie, Melanie Power, Karen
Schindler, Jani Shi, Sanchari Sur, Kari Teicher, Jade Wallace, and Sanna Wani.
Rowan Red Sky is this issue’s featured artist too!
Q:
What are you working on now?
We
are working towards formalizing a corporate board of directors and launching
online material and reviews.
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