This issue we examine the past, meeting the ancestry gurus who can lead us through our heritage; and we look to the future, building the foundations of tomorrow's generations with language and creativity. We meet short-story writer, Alice Peterson, who writes about Dunedin from Quebec; and relish details of the new collection by local poet Cilla McQueen. There's also our usual bevy of reviews and recommendations to keep you busy on dark nights curled up on the sofa, plus poetry from Gay Buckingham, Ann Jacobson, and the winners of the 2016 Robert Burns Poetry Competition.