Highlights from Writers in the Community
Introduction
As part of this year’s Fresh Pages Initiative, Mahta Riazi was named the 2022 Fresh Pages Guest Editor. This temporary, part-time paid opportunity was designed to help an aspiring literary artist who is Indigenous, Black, or a person of colour, develop skills in curating and editing a literary magazine.
Throughout fall of 2022, Mahta received mentorship from me, and we worked together as co-editors to curate this special section in issue 44 of carte blanche magazine. Our goal was to showcase writing by at-risk youth and young adults from the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s Writers in the Community Program.
The QWF’s WIC program pairs small groups of young people for around ten weeks with a professional writer or literary performance artist, teaching them language tools, using writing prompts and exercises, and ultimately boosting their confidence by showing them that they are capable of producing literary works of value. This culminates in a final tangible project (zine, recording, or spoken word performance).
Prior to becoming Editor for carte blanche, I had been a long-time WIC writer-facilitator. The program has a special place in my heart thanks to its mandate to spread enthusiasm for the literary arts to at-risk youth and folks from all walks of life.
I am so proud to be able to feature seven pieces by some talented young writers who took part in the WIC program. It was a pleasure to read through the various zines from 2020-2022 alongside Fresh Pages Guest Editor, Mahta Riazi, who has also been a writer-facilitator for the program.
I hope that you leave with a better understanding and appreciation of the writers who have emerged and flourished as a result of WIC.
Thank you and happy reading!
Greg Santos
carte blanche
Editor-in-Chief
Little Black Creek
In a world so cruel, it’s easy to feel like a black creek.
Different, weird, out-of-the ordinary, a creep.
Who cares, though?
There’s amazing things in being a black creek,
that’s hidden in the mountains.
Once you’ve been found, you’ll see you’re one of a kind.
No one else like you. Super rare.
It takes searching.
But most of the time you’re just stumbled upon.
Feels like you weren’t mean to be found.
But you were.
You have a unique darkness other bodies of water don’t.
So, I guess, you’re a beautiful, mysterious, hidden
black creek amongst the mountains.
By Sage Springs
From In Too Deep, Spring 2022, page 3
https://qwf.org/projects/in-too-deep/
Mahta’s Comments:
I loved “Little Black Creek” for its beautiful and tender interrogation of loneliness, self-discovery, and hope under conditions of isolation and cruelty. There is a clear and palpable darkness to the poem - the image of a thin black creek as a symbol of rejection and desolation carries us, much like a stream of water, throughout the piece. The iciness of this metaphor is quickly cracked, however, as the beauty in this darkness is revealed by the author.
This poem has a strong tone of self-discovery and images that allude to a hidden treasure. We are reminded that the most beautiful, impactful, and important voices are often “hidden in the mountains”, purposefully held at a distance. I love how this message continues to deepen until the end of the poem, drawing at the beauty of mystery and of all that is at first unapparent. Beyond pointing to the strength in what is quiet and the value of interrogating what we may at first judge in a negative light, this poem asks us to look deeper, to search for meaning, and to empower the spaces within ourselves that we may be hiding away.
I can see myself returning to this poem again and again.
Untitled
Among the North, I am Inuk
Among the cold, I am hot
Among the land, I am hunting
Among the family, I am the one who put food on the table
Among the polar bear, I am very small
Among the gun, I am the shooter
Among country food, I am an eater
Among brothers, I am the hunter
Among the mountains, I am a climber
Among my Ski-Doo, I am a driver
Among the ocean, I drive a boat
The ocean is dangerous.
By Vic
From Still in the Hearts, Spring 2022, page 14
https://qwf.org/projects/still-in-the-hearts/
Greg’s Comments:
This evocative poem invites the reader up north, inviting us to accompany the speaker into their world. We find ourselves brought along for the ride among the speaker’s perspective. The repetition of the word “among” carries us, acts as a rhythm, as if we are seated aboard a Ski-Doo or boat. This is familiar terrain for the Inuk speaker, who is a confident hunter, climber, driver, and provider. However, despite all the speaker’s confidence, this is not solely bluster and bravado. We are reminded “The ocean is dangerous.” The poem ends by interrupting the musicality and rhythm with a few simple words of warning, reminding us to show deep respect and awe for Mother Earth.
Monster
A product of science
Technological reconstruction
Flesh torn apart and sewn together once more
Unnatural, Vile
Less than fully human
The means of the monster’s embodiment
Seemingly justify exclusion from the world
Despair will not
Repair the damage
The loss of hope
Becomes a self-fulfilling sentence
Rage. Rage. Rage.
Deep and abiding rage
Fuels change
Direct your rage against
The conditions
Under which you struggle
The conditions
That oppress
And depress
And distress
Nonetheless
I digress
I implore you to reassess
All that you’ve been told
For the fire which you’ve been made to fear
By those who corner you and reproach you for
being vulnerable to the torches
Is your greatest asset, fellow creature of the
forbidden fruit
Let the fire nourish your rage
Let your rage nourish you
Let your nourished soul inform your actions
Let your actions transform you as you reconstruct
the world
By CO
From Social Workshop, Fall 2020, pages 16-17
Mahta’s Comments:
There is so much that draws me to this poem. The attention to sound and musicality moves the piece along in a way that builds motivation and impulse. The repetition of sounds and words like “Rage. Rage. Rage” plays with the persistent messaging of the poem. I also loved the way this poem works with spacing and line breaks, giving a distinct shape and flow to the words.
My favourite aspect of this poem is the questioning of the idea of “monster.” Where and how does the shaping of this concept come into being?, the writing seems to ask, and how can we use this distortion to our advantage? The poem is not subtle - it boldly tells us where to direct our rage, and how to build “the fire which you’ve been made to fear” into our “greatest asset.” I found this piece extremely powerful and inspiring in the way it builds and draws a chain of connection between anger and action.
Dreaming Sleepy
An amateur poet attempts to write
The thoughts in head, the pen takes flight
Creativity and novelty, the plan is right
The world of imagination and endless kites
The poet imagines to fly in daylight
By CSN
From Poetically Speaking, 2022, page 31
https://qwf.org/projects/poetically-speaking/
Greg’s Comments:
I am a sucker for ars poetica poems. That is a poem that explores the art of writing poetry using the form and techniques of a poem. Here, this brief piece follows the amateur poet as they “attempt to write/The thoughts in head” and we as readers join them in the “world of imagination and endless kites”, up in the clouds. Rather than call this poem something like “Daydreaming”, the author surprises us right away with the original title “Dreaming Sleepy.” How lucky we are to soar through the skies and to enter new worlds thanks to the creativity and imagination of artists!
Inflated Identity
I put the imagination into reading.
The font into book.
I am friggin amazing, so phenomenal.
I open my book.
And thunder roars and lightning strikes
The artistry liberates my thoughts
And the ingenuity soothes my mind
My fingertips trace the fine print of a novel
I am like a bird, the words flow through
my feathered wings
Nicholas puts sparks in my body.
When I read I escape to other worlds
By AD
From This Is Us: Poets United, 2021, page 4
https://qwf.org/projects/this-is-us-poets-united/
Mahta’s Comments:
“Inflated identity” is such a delicate description of the wonder and magic of creative process and engagement. This poem does not hold back with the intensity of its sensorial imagery; we hear the roar of thunder and the delicate stroke of feathered wings. The play of opposites here between the soft fragility of feathers and fine print and the bold impact of flashes, sparks and lightning makes the poem feel full and expansive, despite its brevity.
The feeling of escaping into a book is such a relatable and powerful feeling. I love the way the narrator, in this poem, becomes a part of the book. We watch them become transformed through the process of reading, becoming more than themself, becoming something “phenomenal.” The final line is straightforward, reminding us that the seemingly simple acts we engage in carry within them a world of meaning and possibility.
It’s a New Day
It’s a New day
Spring Into Life
Good Vibes
Speak Out
Start Fresh
No Rain
No Flowers
The Fight is to
Push Boundaries
Co-composed by The Royalties
From Heaven Spring, Spring 2022, page 1
https://qwf.org/projects/heaven-spring/
Just Start
Just Start
Moving Forward
Never Look Back
One Step a Day
One Step at a Time
Persist and Resist
Against struggle
Make a Wish
That Counts for your Life
You have the power to just start
Co-composed by The Royalties
From Heaven Springs, Spring 2022, page 52
https://qwf.org/projects/heaven-spring/
Greg’s Comments:
These two collaborative poems composed by the authors of Heaven Springs actually bookend the zine. With “It’s a New Day” kicking things off on the first page, I thought, what a wonderful way to welcome readers. While there is “Good Vibes” and positive energy to be found within, I am particularly drawn to the poets’ words of action. These are not simple platitudes of empty positivity. There is an urgency for the authors here to be active. They “Speak Out” and urge us remember: “The Fight is to/ Push Boundaries.”
The poem that ends this zine, cheekily asks us to “Just Start.” The authors ease us in gently. We are to take things “One Step at a Time.” In the sixth line, however, we are not just being encouraged to take small steps but rather to “Persist and Resist.” Again, these are words of action. I love how this poem tells us, the reader, that in the end, it is up to us to take the initiative. “You have the power to just start.” Wise words, I think for all of us to remember during these often overwhelming and busy times.
ABOUT THE Curators
Mahta Riazi is a poet, community worker, and educator living in Tio’tia:ke (Montréal). She has previously worked with QWF as a facilitator for the Writers in the Community program. She is inspired by and indebted to the poetry of Kristin Chang, Forough Farokhzaad, Sayeh, Hieu Minh Nguyen, George Abraham, and Joshua Bennett, among others. You can find Mahta's poetry in inQluded magazine, Voicemail Poems, Yolk literary magazine, Bahr magazine, and Brickplight. Her chapbook Parastoo was published in June 2022 by Cactus Press.
Greg Santos is a poet, editor, and educator. He is the author of Ghost Face (DC Books, 2020) and several other poetry collections. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. His writing has been featured in CBC First Person,The Walrus, This Magazine, Geist, Vallum, The Feathertale Review, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, McSweeney's, The Best American Poetry Blog, and World Literature Today. He regularly works as a creative writing instructor and has partnered with organizations including Vallum Society for Education in Arts & Letters, Writers in the Community, Quebec Roots, the Atwater Writers Exhibition, and the Thomas More Institute. He is the Editor in Chief of carte blanche. He lives in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal with his wife and two children. Visit his Linktree at https://linktr.ee/gspoet