Symbiosis: An Intercultural Anthology of Poetry (in English)

Canada is no longer a bi-cultural country: the millions of immigrants who have come to this land in the last forty years, as well as the Canadian Natives, have made of Canada a unique place. It has been said repeatedly that Canada is a multicultural society; yet …it is an error to think that because a writer has an ethnic background, that his or her experiences do not relate to the Canadian culture or the Canadian way of being. Human existence and experiences are similar, after all, regardless of the language or region in which they take place.

Although the initial intention of this book was to have poets of origins other than Canadian, i.e., “ethnic,” I felt that the definition of the word was insufficient to encompass the richness of multiculturalism or “interculturalism.” In the end, this book is meant to be a true reflection of what Canada is today by expressing the intellectual and social levels in this microcosm that is Ottawa.

The thirty-eight authors in this book represent no fewer than twenty different cultures who all see and feel Canada and its literature from different cultural points of view. Included are some of the best poets from this region writing entirely in English and/or French. In this sense, it is a fitting tribute to the intercultural richness of the Nation’s Capital. (Luciano Díaz)