Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson has worked in publishing for over a decade, beginning with Carleton’s student-run literary magazine In/Words. He is the Managing Editor of Arc Poetry Magazine, a contract instructor at Carleton University, and the Editorial Assistant at Nightwood Editions. He has published his poetry in various magazines and journals, and he performs in the sound-poetry ensemble Quatour Gualour.

The two things I took away from my Carleton English degree are a deep, continuing admiration of great literature and an appreciation of the communities of writers that are required to allow great literature to exist. During my degree I was especially drawn to English courses about Canadian poetry and I was consistently amazed by the various small-press movements that have pushed forward this country’s literary history. I’m very grateful to be involved in the publishing sector and I enjoy bringing to my work the lessons I learned from my Carleton English degree.

I’ve always enjoyed the fact that Carleton is centred in a major city while it is also simultaneously a little bit tucked away. This always gave Carleton the air of being an insider and an outsider, a place where you can be a part of the conversation while also feeling like an onlooker. While I became engaged in Ottawa’s literary scene through my involvement with a student-run literary magazine, I also grew more and more aware of how Ottawa’s writing community is extremely different from the bigger publishing centres in Toronto and Montreal. I was able to build connections while I was a Carleton student, which led to opportunities with various literary organizations after I graduated.