1970s Dandelion Magazine was the brainchild of then Calgary-based writers
Joan Clark and
Edna Alford. In the early 1970s, they were participants in a writers' workshop at the University of Calgary led by poet and faculty member Christopher Wiseman. During coffee breaks, they talked about starting a literary magazine where emerging Alberta writers could publish their work. The first issue was produced in the summer of 1975 at the Dandelion Artists’ Cooperative located at the historic
Deane House in Calgary’s Inglewood neighbourhood. Early editions were typewritten, stapled chapbooks with cardstock covers featuring a silkscreened dandelion flower by visual artist Velma Foster. For the first four years, the editors used their funds to publish the annual magazine. Each edition of the magazine was launched at a public event in various locations around Calgary, including the Deane House. The emergence of
Dandelion Magazine was part of a decade literary critic Bruce Meyer called "a period of intense literary activity in Canada." In the 1970s, there were "more active writers than at any other time in Canadian history, and there were more magazines available to publish their work than ever before." The magazine borrowed space at the Alexandra Centre nearby, eventually establishing a business office there. In 1979, the Dandelion Magazine Society was incorporated in the Province of Alberta.
1980s By 1980, Dandelion—Calgary’s only literary magazine—was receiving funding from arts agencies in Calgary and Alberta. In 1981, it began publishing twice a year. In 1982, the editors of launched
blue buffalo, at first as a supplement and then as an independent publication under the auspices of the Dandelion Magazine Society. In 1998, it celebrated its 25th anniversary with a celebration and fundraiser. Shortly after, the magazine folded due to financial pressures and other circumstances. In 1999,
Aritha van Herk and
Fred Wah, faculty members in the University of Calgary’s English Department resurrected the magazine as
dANDelion. Its new organizational structure featured an editorial collective run by University of Calgary graduate students and overseen by a faculty advisor.
2000s During the 2000s, several special issues were published. In 2003, the magazine published an edition featuring the work of poet and visual artist
Roy Kiyooka. In 2004, the “Disaster!” edition edited by Calgary poet
Jill Hartman focused on the Kelowna, BC forest fires in a joint project with Calgary’s Truck Gallery. In 2007, the “Radical Translation” issue featured the work of Quebec poet
Nicole Brossard. In 2011, “The Mapping Issue” was the final issue of the magazine, guest edited by Montreal writer and translator
Oana Avasilichioaei and managing editor Kathleen Brown. In April 2019, founding editors Joan Clark, Edna Alford and Velma Foster were honoured at a celebration held at the Deane House for their contributions to Calgary’s literary heritage.
Editors Dandelion Magazine (1975-1999) literary editors have included:
Joan Clark,
Edna Alford, Christopher Wiseman,
Gloria Sawai,
Robert Hilles,
Claire Harris,
Cecelia Frey,
Mark Anthony Jarman,
Fred Stenson,
Cornelia Hoogland,
Nancy Holmes,
Adele Megann, Yvonne Trainer and Allan Serafino. Dandelion visual arts editors (1975-1999) included: Velma Foster, Dale Fehr, Russ Brocklehurst, Dianne Bersea, Patricia Olynyk, John K. Esler, and Alice Simmons. dANDelion (2000-2011) managing editors included: Emily Cargan, Anne Sorbie,
derek beaulieu,
Jill Hartman and
Oana Avasilichioaei. University of Calgary faculty advisors included
Aritha van Herk,
Fred Wah,
Nicole Markotic,
Suzette Mayr,
Christian Bök and
Tom Wayman. ==References==