About Armistice Press
Armistice Press is a small poetry chapbook press founded in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) in 2021, AB. Our focus is on work by local, emerging LGBTQ+ poets. The name Armistice Press comes from a quote by American poet and activist Audre Lorde: "I am defined as other in every group I'm part of, the outsider, both strength and weakness. Yet without community there is certainly no liberation, no future, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between me and my oppression."
In 2016, Ellen travelled to Nepal to hike to Mount Everest Base Camp. After returning to Canada, she wrote and produced a one-person show about her experiences during that trip. She produced a hand-stitched chapbook for the performance called The Tenderness of Stone. The experience of producing and performing that show in 2018 changed how Ellen saw herself as an artist and helped her find her voice as a poet. It is because of that experience that she wanted to start this chapbook press and help other emerging poets.
The photos on this website were taken in 2018 by Ellen on a hiking trip through the Inca Trail in Peru to Machu Picchu.
About Ellen
Armistice is run by Edmonton poet Ellen Kartz (she/her). Born and raised in Edmonton, Ellen lived in Calgary for four years while completing her Bachelor of Arts degree. She also completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing through the University of British Columbia. She worked for many years with the Edmonton Poetry Festival as volunteer coordinator, event planner, and served on the board during that time. Currently, Ellen is the Communications & Partnerships Coordinator with the Writers' Guild of Alberta and administrative assistant for the Stroll of Poets.