Hi all,

For what it's worth I'd like to add a few of my own thoughts here. You won't hear much from me on this side of the fence: in fact this might be my one and only posting, but I think, initially, I'd like to address a few of the key concepts that Dan and I discussed when we first decided to create this unique venture.

First, when I look out my window, I see a suburb of Tokyo. To be frank, not much of interest is happening out there for the foreign writing community. Certainly there are some workshops and a few readings, and a slam or two at a bar, but outside of Gavin Bantock in the wilds of Shikoku and the occasional visiting poet in the univeristies, the talent quotient is surprisingly low. This is not to say that the Japanese poetry community is not active--it is alive and electric. However, on the whole, my end of ahadada books is a bit like Coleridge's pleasure dome rising mid-way on the waves--certainly we are producing books, but those books are sold and read--on the whole--elsewhere, and that is completely fine with me.

Dan, on the other hand sees the skyline of Toronto from his digs, and that's beautiful. What an incredible place for poetry and alternative publishing in English! That's why I feel that this small press exchange project is especially good for everyone--including Ahadada Books, because it grounds us in the land of Canadada and that's a great place to be! I'm heartened by the fact that so much relating to Canadian readings and publishing is beginning to appear here. Of course, that doesn't mean that Brits--I see Phil has signed on--and the Yanks are not welcome too! The more the merrier.

Yep, this is a great place to be so please spread the word and feel free to tell everyone your NEWS--be it a new book, a new press--a new readings, a review--a gripe--anything. This is a great place to post--or even repost. We have no rules against spreading the same news here that's appeared elsewhere, as long as it's useful for your project. Anyway--those are my thoughts, and here's my voice in welcome and my written handshake. Live long and prosper. Jesse Glass