Paul Vermeersch

From the Editor: The moment is not a full stop; it is an ampersand.

Dear reader,

In the last issue, I wrote about our motto—Reading for pleasure. Writing for everyone—and what it means to us. In this issue, I’d like to write a few words about our name and, by extension, our logo, and what they mean to us.
Both originate from the Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College. From the earliest stages of the program’s development, the ampersand has been its de facto emblem because it symbolizes the relationship between creative writing AND publishing, and in this preface, I’d like to share with you the story of our ampersand.
As you probably know, the ampersand is a logogram for the word “and.” But did you know that it originated as a ligature of the letters E and T, for the Latin word, “et,” which means “and”?
Of course, “and” is a coordinating conjunction used to join words, phrases, and clauses together. Other coordinating conjunctions don’t do this. “But” creates oppositions. “If” creates conditions. “For” is tentative. “Yet” is hesitant. “Nor” is negative. “So” must be persuaded. “Or” makes you choose.
Only “and” has the unconditional, affirmative, constructive, and immediate power to add and add and add and add, and to make something grow and grow and grow and grow, et cetera, et cetera. This is why I think “and” is the most optimistic of the conjunctions ... because it is always used to add more to something: more words, more phrases, more clauses. “And” is the key to adding to and expanding what is already there, what we already know, what we already are.
In improv theatre, for example, the act of impromptu creative collaboration onstage is called “Yes, and ...” because it’s the one thing that will never derail the momentum of the journey. It always propels the action forward.
“And” makes connections.
“And” makes contributions.
“And” makes things possible.
It is in that spirit that I like to remind students who graduate from our program that if they think they are coming to the end of something, then I will have to make a small edit to their sentence. They are not arriving at a period. They are arriving at a comma, followed by the word “and.” And I believe this is true of all of life’s pivotal moments. The moment is not a full stop; it is an ampersand, and what follows is another clause being added to the clause we’ve just completed.
And then there will be another.
And another.
And another.
The act of publishing, too, is additive. With each issue of The Ampersand Review, we hope to add something to the world: more poetry, and more stories, and more knowledge. This is the calling of writers and publishers—to answer, with as much imagination as possible, the call of all the world’s endless curiosity. Or ... we try to, anyway.
And that’s it from me until Issue No. 6.

Best,
Paul Vermeersch
October, 2023

Paul Vermeersch is the editor-in-chief of The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing