What is the OHF Philosophy?
What are the submission rules?
How frequently do you publish?
How do I obtain a copy?
What writing is preferred?
Who funds Open Heart Forgery?
Why don’t you publish writers from outside the Halifax area?
Isn’t encouraging forgery bad?
What are OHF’s origins?
Why do we need OHF?
Where can I find OHF?
Where can I leave OHF?
What is Open Heart Farming?
What if I have another question?
OHF has a unique philosophy that guides our activities and relations with others:
– A belief in positivity, inclusiveness, democracy, empowerment and fun
– A belief that creativity can be fostered in anyone, can be shared with everyone, and that it improves our society/personal lives
– To support fellow Forgers to build a strong local HRM community of fellow writers and readers
– To promote a free discourse of ideas and beliefs, no matter the political or religious viewpoint (except for the promotion of hateful ideas/writing)
– To strive to stay as self-sufficient and independent as possible by avoiding dependency on government funding or corporate sponsorship
– To provide a supportive environment in which new writers can read their work and find their ‘voice’
– To always have an open door for cooperation with other people and groups, and for new ideas
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What are the submission rules?
1) No hate. No sexism. No racism.
2) Maximum 28 lines long (not including title and your byline), and maximum 43 letters wide. Submissions exceeding these guidelines will be considered, space permitting.
3) Only HRM residents, to keep OHF a local community journal. Former residents and people with a connection to Nova Scotia can submit to our online only OHF Abroad page.
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How frequently do you publish?
Open Heart Forgery strives to be a monthly publication, though we do occasionally take a month off.
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How do I obtain or print a copy?
1) Print the PDF version for any issue.
a) Click View Issue at the top of any issue page.
b) You should see the PDF version, with an option to print. Depending on your browser, browser settings, and PDF viewer, the PDF may appear onscreen or download, and you may need to use browser options or open the PDF file to print it.
c) The print copy is intended for 8 1/2 x 14 (legal size) paper. It can be printed on 8 1/2 by 11 by using scaling options in your print settings (such as ‘Fit to page,’ but may be hard to read.
2) Pick up copies around HRM at locations listed below.
3) Attend the monthly Open Heart Forgery gathering, where copies of the new issue are handed out to those who want to distribute them around town. The gathering is usually in the first week of the month. Check our Facebook page for details.
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What writing is preferred?
Preference will be given to poetry and lyrics that seek to voice:
– creativity over conformity
– wonder over cynicism
– substance/sincerity over style
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Who funds Open Heart Forgery?
As a labour of love, there are no government grants, advertising revenues, subscription fees nor newstand sales. In other words, we scrape together the funds somehow, usually through voluntary donations. You can contribute here.
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Why don’t you publish writers from outside the Halifax area?
Open Heart Forgery is a grass-roots publication that aims to give voice to local Halifax writers and to build a community of writers and readers within the Halifax Regional Municipality. While we love to hear from our friends outside the area, we only publish local residents for a few reasons: to bring together people to share their personal connection with writing; to encourage face to face discussions and collaboration; and to revitalize a spirit of poetry around Halifax.
Open Heart Farming is open to residents of Nova Scotia.
OHF Abroad is open to anyone in Nova Scotia, former residents of Halifax, and anyone with a connection to Nova Scotia.
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Isn’t encouraging forgery bad?
Open Heart Forgery is a free labour of love so copy it freely – nobody’s getting paid and no money’s being made. Unlike other publications, Open Heart Forgery is distributed by you the writers and readers. And so we encourage you to forge this journal! Photocopy it at work. Print off copies of the website PDF. Forward the PDF via email. Beautify the city by leaving these words in surprising places!
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What are OHF’s origins?
Open Heart Forgery was founded in February 2010 by Donal Power, a Halifax writer. Donal realized that there is a pressing need to encourage local writers by publishing their work in a way that everyone in the community can access, either freely downloadable or free to pick up around town. OHF was Donal’s labour of love for four years. Since he moved away, a volunteer committee is working hard to keep it alive.
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Why do we need OHF?
OHF was, and is, necessary because there is virtually no support for emerging poets in Halifax’s cultural industrial complex, except for: 1) the publishing of an elite clique of established writers to the exclusion of new talent 2) creative writing programs through the public school system which promptly vanish after high school. OHF fills this important gap, which is obviously needed in our city as we have published hundreds of local writers to date, and there is no lack of new writers emerging from the shadows.
Poetry for the people, BY the people!
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Distribution to some locations is currently on hold (indicated by strikethrough).
All HRM Libraries
Atlantic News – Queen Street
Bookmark – Spring Garden Road
Coburg Social – Coburg Road
Daily Grind – Birmingham Street
Dalhousie – Killam Library
Dalhousie – Student Union
Glitter Bean – Spring Garden Road
King’s College – Library
King’s College – Prince Hall
Local Jo’s – Oxford Street
NSCC – Leeds Street
Organic Earth Market – Quinpool Road
SMU – Library
SMU – Student Union
Trident Books – Hollis Street
Uncommon Grounds – South Park Street
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Beautify by leaving OHF in myriad surprising places:
– student lounges
– food courts
– dental clinics
– house parties
– ferry terminals
– poetry readings
– UFO landings
– bus seats
– toilet stalls
– emergency wards
– flea markets
– open mic nights
– backs of cabs
– protest rallies
– family reunions
– square dances
– sports practices
– public meetings
– baby showers
– drum circles
– pub crawls
– swanky affairs
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Open Heart Farming is a special themed issue of Open Heart Forgery. The idea to create Open Heart Farming came about in the fall of 2011, when Mary Ellen Sullivan became concerned that the voices and opinions of farmers supporting the Canadian Wheat Board were being dismissed. Open Heart Farming provides a place where all residents of Nova Scotia – anyone who has an interest in or a connection to farming, or simply loves food – can share their poetry or lyrics. Open Heart Farming makes poetry easily accessible in print, online at www.ohforgery.com, and in spoken word. We believe in increasing awareness of farming and food issues through poetry. The 2012, 2013, and 2014 issues of Open Heart Farming, in collaboration with the Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia, were officially launched at the FMNS AGM’s.
View previous issues and submission information.
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What if I have another question?
Contact us using the form on the home page.
Open Heart Forgery 
How may I leave a comment of appreciation for Lois R. Brison-Brown for a poem she wrote, The Heard, in the May 2014 issue? Thanks so much!
Hi Nancy thanks for taking the time to pass on your appreciation of Lois’s poem. I love it too. She also has a poem in this year’s issue. I will pass your comment on to her.
Yours in the land
Mary Ellen Sullivan
Glad you liked it. You can now leave comments directly on each issue’s page.