Note: On June 14, Amatoritsero Ede will be one of the first two students to graduate from Carleton with a PhD in English. The other is Emma Peacocke.
Amatoritsero Ede wants to give new Canadian writers the confidence to share their poetry, ideas and essays with the world.
The Carleton English PhD grad student knows what it’s like to live in a new place and have no writing outlet – so he decided to create a new online journal called Maple Tree Literary Supplement (MTLS) that publishes and promotes culturally-diverse writing.
“It’s a platform for writers to test their voice, go to the bigger stage, and then shout,” says Ede. “That’s what it’s about – inclusion, diversity and discovering new writers.”
Ede, who came to Canada from Germany in 2005, had already published a number of poetry anthologies and written work. But in Canada, he felt he didn’t have a proper outlet to share his writing.
“I had been writing forever, and I thought there might be other people like me,” he says.
Since its creation in 2008, the website has grown to include the works of established writers, and new names, in each issue.
Ede says the journal has also given new Canadians confidence and mentorship opportunities that they might not find elsewhere.
“You don’t have to be a perfect writer, you just have to have promise,” he says, adding that online submissions go through an editorial board. “It gives people the confidence to build and become great writers.”
Ede says he had been juggling his PhD studies with the online journal – which he ran solely, with some administrative help.
Now that he is graduating in June, Ede plans to dedicate all his time to the journal to help it grow.
“It’s mostly a labour of love,” he says.
Ede adds that MTLS came out of his passion for writing – but also from his outlook on life.
“Usually, I don’t look at obstacles as problems,” he says. “No matter how negative or bad something might seem, there must be something positive. We live in a free country where nobody’s holding you back or oppressing you, but you have to make things happen.”
For more information or to submit work to the journal, visit the website: MTLS.ca.
–story courtesy of Carleton Now
