Editor’s Note

As I write this editorial, it has been a relatively warm season so far and my family has been doing our utmost to partake in quintessential fall activities like apple picking, elaborate Halloween costume preparations, and getting ready to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with mooncakes and all manner of round-shaped goodies.

For this issue’s open-themed round of submissions, the carte blanche team and I were eager to see what type of creative works we would receive from Québec, Canada, and beyond. Reflecting on the pieces that were selected by our section editors, I noticed many works that touched on themes such as transformation, troubled minds, family, and mourning. Perhaps it has something to do with our communally having to experience the changing of the seasons from summer to fall and the darkening of our days?

We, at carte blanche, are proud to present the finished results that make up issue 46, which features works of fiction, creative nonfiction, photography, comics, and translations. Here are highlights by some of our creators that we hope resonate with you, our readers:

Caitlin Stall-Paquet’s “The Sea Canaries” is a multifaceted essay that touches on a variety of subjects ranging from human kinship with beluga whales, the fascinating history of the St. Lawrence River, and the author reflecting on her late father.

We feature some spooky pieces just in time for the upcoming Halloween season, like Nicolò Monti’s “Ghosts” (translated from Italian by Mariarosaria Musco) as well as “The Unchanging Moon” by Charlotte Morris, a gritty yet touching werewolf comic inspired by a David Shyovitz essay titled “Christians and Jews in the Twelfth-Century Werewolf Renaissance.”

“Time Dilation at the DJ Booth” by Khashayar Mohammadi in the creative nonfiction section offers a glimpse of the author’s haunting experience of being a DJ at their friend’s funeral.

Fiona Vigo Marshall takes on an adventure to Mexico from the point of view of the fabled “Sasquatch” in the fiction section and we greet the day from famed actor/comedian Bill Murray’s perspective in Robbie Maakestad’s flash-fiction piece “Bill Murray Awakens.”

In the photography section, we are whisked to Tibet by Kalden Dhatsenpa, to reflect on the mountains and grasslands of his late father’s homeland in “Providence, Devoid.”

Nadiyah Abdullatif has translated an excerpt of “The Rasta’s Song” by Sharon Paul in the translation section, where a musically-inclined protagonist named Nas learns about the surprising blending of Mauritius’ Sega with Jamaica’s reggae to create “seggae”!

And lastly, but certainly not least, as part of the QWF College Writers Award, you will find the 2022 award-winning story “Misrememberings” by Eden Andrews in our creative nonfiction section.

These highlighted pieces above are only some of the many outstanding pieces featured in this issue, so consider bundling up with a cozy sweater or throw blanket, enjoying a warm, pumpkin-spiced beverage (if that’s your kind of thing), and browsing through carte blanche issue 46.

When you find a piece that really stands out and moves you from our magazine, please feel free to get in touch and let us know your thoughts.

Happy reading and take care!

Greg Santos,
Editor-in-Chief
Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, September 2023