Q: How long were you in Ottawa, and what first brought you here? What took you away?
I came to Ottawa in 1986 to attend University of Ottawa on a scholarship to study lettres françaises but I graduated in 1990 with B.A. in English Literature. Afterwards, I was offered a job in communications in Montreal—and took it—though I was briefly tempted to move to Toronto to pursue graduate studies in journalism at Ryerson.
Q: How did you first get involved in writing, and subsequently, the writing community here?
I always wrote—terrible poetry as a kid—and some mildly better short stories too. In my first year at uOttawa, I started writing for the student newspaper, The Fulcrum. In my second year, I became Features Editor—and went on to Arts Editor in my third year and News Editor in my fourth year. I also started freelancing for a few local publications. I came back to the Ottawa writing scene at the beginning of the pandemic, attending the Tree Reading Series and the Riverbed Reading Series and participating in open mic thanks to the encouragement of my then-publicist for my third book, Ottawa poet and now good friend Margo LaPierre. I still go to Tree! I am currently discussing starting a regular reading series with my brother Gary van der Meer, now an Ottawa resident and the priest at St. John The Evangelist Anglican Church on Somerset Street—at the church. More to come on this!
Q: How did being in such a community of writers shift your thinking about writing, if at all? Have there been subsequent shifts due to where you have lived since?
Working at The Fulcrum for four years meant that I was part of a broad community of writers—most of them aspiring to become journalists. This was a wonderful place for me to be—and to start figuring out what kind of writer I wanted to be. In terms of my writing life, I have since worked as a magazine journalist, a corporate writer and editor and a PR consultant specializing in content creation. And for the last 15 years or so, I’ve been an active poet, publishing and reading where I can. This has certainly been encouraged and influenced by both the anglophone and francophone poetry scenes in Montreal.
Q: What did you see happening here that you don’t see anywhere else? What did Ottawa provide, or allow?
Ottawa has a particularly vibrant literary community that is welcoming and open. This is what I am seeing now. In my younger days, it was a breeding ground for the exploration of ideas with the built-in soapbox that was The Fulcrum.
Q: Have any of your projects responded directly to your engagements here? How had the city and its community, if at all, changed the way you approached your work?
Absolutely. Working with Margo as my publicist for a year opened my eyes to what the poetry community in Ottawa had to offer. I have since become more familiar with Ottawa poets and publications and have gained an understanding of what they care about and are looking for in terms of publishing opportunities. These are active considerations when I submit my work and when I participate in readings.
Q: What are you working on now?
Mostly, I am looking for opportunities to read from and talk about my latest book Sensorial while it’s still hot off the press. I also have a finished poetry manuscript that I am beginning to send out to publishers. And a chapbook underway for publication next year. And I have developed a keen interest in the braided essay and am working quietly on these in the background.
