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In the middle space coverIn The Middle Space

A marriage of Windsor’s public art and poetry

Thirteen authors from various backgrounds all come together to celebrate Windsor’s public art by sharing their stories in poetry In The Middle Space.

“This anthology is a marriage of public art and poetry – in essence, living art,” says Marty Gervais, Windsor’s poet laureate emeritus.

Mark your calendars – book launch April 6, 2023

In The Middle Space will be launched April 6 at Mackenzie Hall with Windsor’s newest poet laureate Peter Hrastovec, joined by the city’s multicultural storyteller Teajai Travis.

Hosted by the University of Windsor and City of Windsor cultural affairs, the launch will feature video presentations and readings featuring the work of authors André Narbonne, Laurie Smith, Christopher Menard, and Mary Ann Mulhern.

Admission is free and refreshments will be offered.

Bookstore Order Information for In The Middle Ground

Please place orders at order@blackmosspress.com

We will fulfill these orders directly in 48 hours or less.

Bookstore Order Information for Lucien & Olivia

Please place orders at order@blackmosspress.com

We will fulfill these orders directly in 48 hours or less.

André Narbonne’s Lucien & Olivia longlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

The debut novel from marine-engineer-turned-English-Professor André Narbonne has been long-listed for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Lucien and Olivia is a comic statement on the beautiful waywardness of life. Built on scenes of discovery and error, the novel satirizes the transactional view of human relations that has elbowed its way into our lives by way of contemporary political discourse.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize highlights the best of Canadian fiction. Lucien and Oliver was one of 14 selected from 138 books read by the jury.

New Releases

PUBLISHERS OF CANADIAN LITERATURE & POETRY

More than 600 first editions published … More than 200 new authors introduced

Our authors tell the stories of the people, places, events and passions that are important to Canadians. In the process, they make literature and narrative poetry accessible and relevant.

Find out more about our press and our editorial team.

Recent & Notable

Profiles & Insights

Meet Some of Our Authors

Or meet them all on our Authors page

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John B. Lee

``John B. Lee is the best poet on the contemporary scene in North America… ” –Rolling Stone

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Samantha Badoa

New Voices – City of Windsor youth poet laureate

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Christopher L. Menard

Author, playwright, leader in Windsor's arts community

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Antonia Facciponte

A new voice on Canada's literary scene

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Bruce Meyer

Globally recognized poet & author

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D.A. Lockhart

Turtle Clan member of Eelünaapéewi Lahkéewiit (Lenape), a registered member of the Moravian of the Thames First Nation

We’re lucky to have Marty in our community, and to have his words shaping histories, sharing stories.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkins

I’ve said it before - I’m very lucky to oversee Windsor’s Poet Laureate Program, and to have been able to build it up with Marty at the helm as our inaugural Poet Laureate, and then to continue working with him when he was named Poet Laureate Emeritus.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkins

"And what of the presence in the city of Canada’s most widely celebrated literary publisher, Marty Gervais, poet laureate of the city of Windsor? His influence on generations of the practitioners of People’s Poetry is beyond measure…”

Toronto Star

"One of Canada's most important literary presses."

Quill & Quire

Black Moss Press is ... driven by a passion for literature and for producing high-quality publications.

David Hayes, The Toronto Star

We bring literature to life

Hockey arenas… factory floors… city buses…

Black Moss and our authors make Canadian literature and poetry a part of everyday life, bringing new perspectives and ways of looking at day-to-day life and reaching out to audiences in unexpected ways.

Although I despise the word “lifestyle” the connection between agriculture and the wilderness, cultivation and culture, are very relevant and there is an entire way of life vanishing.

The ironic parallel for me as a writer is the disappearance of poetry in the life of the people. Once upon a time, when education was committed to the making of a well-rounded, fully engaged mind, my Uncle John, a shepherd who could quote Virgil and Shakespeare, is now gone. Even the educated classes don’t seem to realize the importance of the contemplative, slow thinking, lingering and deepening experience, and the entertainment of agitprop performance pieces.  – John B. Lee

Black Moss uses narrative literature and poetry to chronicle the events, lives and experiences unique and important to Canadians. The Family Farm is one of the first three of these themed explorations that can be found in Poetry in Life on this site.

News & Events

 We acknowledge and thank the Canada Council for its generous support. Thank you as well to the City of Windsor for its support and encouragement of our press and building community awareness of and support for Canadian literature in Windsor.