Why these poets together? Is this a collection of poetry proposing to launch a new school? Winters in Ottawa are long and dark and full of snow. In the long, dark winter of 1997, several of these authors got together at a local pub to talk poetry. Then they did it again. And again. And again. At times, the group numbered up to twenty, often, they were fewer. Many of these poets had national and international reputations. Others were less well known but dedicated to writing. Six years later, Cinquefoil was formed.