Arc 92 Summer 2020  Moments of elemental change: Arc's 2020 Poem of the Year

In This Issue

This summer’s Black Lives Matter protests across Canada, America and the world have driven increased public attention towards the issues of police brutality and systemic racism. However, these ongoing forms of oppression have long histories of being protested for decades. It is fitting, then, that 2020’s Poem of the Year Contest winner was “Change is a Slow Erosion” by Leah MacLean-Evans, which reminds us of how slow and seemingly quick change can take place.

Other Poem of the Year title-takers: “remedies for cross Atlantic dispersion” by Melissa Davidson won the hearts of readers this year, and Cassandra Myers’ poem “Lake Baptiste Ungenders Me” received the honourable mention.

Here’s what Arc 92 is bringing to you:

• The shortlisted and winning poems for Arc’s Poem of the Year Contest;
• New essays by Marilyn Dumont, Sadiqa de Meijer, and Dina Del Bucchia;
• Poetry by Michelle Poirier Brown, Whitney French, Phoebe Wang, Isabella Wang, David Ly, and many others;
• Translations of work by Icelandic poet Gerður Kristný by K. B. Thors; and
• Reviews by Dessa Bayrock, Jane Shi, Deanna Radford, and more.