I am a firm believer that writing should be, needs to be, rooted in a place, or places. In my own writing I nearly always put in references to specific places, however subtle or overt those references may be. Where we are, where we’ve come from are important to who we are, and who we are is where our writing comes from.

What is poetry without roots? Who are we without history? Poetry does have roots and we do have history, it is acknowledging that and embracing it that is important.

Cyril Dabydeen has roots in three places: India, where his family emigrated from; Guyana, where they immigrated to; and Canada, where he has lived for nearly forty years. His writing acknowledges and draws from all of these places and the places between. India, Guyana, and Canada each have their place in Cyril Dabydeen’s writing, both his poetry and his prose.

The immigrant experience, I imagine, is largely a liminal one--constantly existing between two places.

Writing from places we know is how we share who we are.

We live in places. We exist between where we live and where we’ve come from.

Elizabeth Bachinsky lives in BC. She exists between BC and the Ukraine, where her roots lie. Her poetry is aware of and reflects this beautifully.

Writing can not exist outside of Place.

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Brandon James Bertram is an English/Creative Writing student at the University of Winnipeg. He reads, writes, rides bikes, and drinks coffee.