The Revolving City: 51 Poems and the Stories Behind Them (Anvil Press / SFU Public Square) is a vibrant and diverse collection from a who’s who of the west coast poetry scene. The poems assembled here range from the lyric to the experimental and address the theme of disconnection in an urban environment from a variety of positions, concerns, and cultural perspectives. The collection also includes short reflections on the poems, written by the poets themselves, providing readers with an intimate insight into the inspiration and meaning behind the poems.

The Project

The Revolving City anthology evolved out of the Lunch Poems reading series, a stimulating exchange of poetic ideas and cadence held the third Wednesday of every month in public space at Simon Fraser University’s Vancouver campus. The Revolving City seeks to build community, extend poetry to new audiences, and reflect the rich diversity of the poetry scene both local and distant. Co-published by Anvil Press and SFU Public Square, the collection was edited by much-lauded writer and director of the Writer’s Studio, Wayde Compton, and award-winning poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar.

My Role

My role as Managing Editor was to shepherd the book from concept through to publication. I coordinated the selection of poems, contacted poets, sourced text, secured permissions. I did the interior design and pitched the co-publication concept to Anvil Press, ensuring the manuscript made it to the printer on time.

The Revolving City was launched on September 23, 2015, at a large gathering of writers and friends at SFU Vancouver’s Harbour Centre campus as part of Word Vancouver 2015.

Following the launch, I worked on a marketing campaign to raise awareness among secondary school teachers and post-secondary instructors of poetry.