Editor’s Note
This fall, carte blanche put out a call inviting creators to mull over the word “soft” as a theme for our final issue of 2023. After a challenging number of years building our collective resilience during a global pandemic, I was interested in having our editorial team consider works that touch on the soft, slow, open, and gentle.
Firstly, I would like to welcome Veronique Synnott, our new poetry editor, to the team. I also want to acknowledge the work of Gabrielle Cole, the 2023 Fresh Pages mentee Gabrielle Cole, the 2023 Fresh Pages mentee who worked with our fiction editor, Liana Cusmano, to co-curate this issue’s fiction section.
Issue 47 will be the final one for two members of the current carte blanche masthead: Poonam Dhir (creative nonfiction) and Erin Lindsay (blog editor and communications manager). Thank you so much for your dedicated work with us over the past few years, Poonam and Erin. Best wishes to you both on your new endeavours. I know this isn’t goodbye but more like see you soon and around Montréal’s energetic literary and artistic community.
Next, rather than single out the contributors and their pieces in this editorial, I trust you, our readers, to be able to take your time to scroll through the “soft” work found in this issue during another unimaginably hard time for our world.
News headlines have been dominated by Israel and Palestine, and despite a so-called pause offering brief slivers of hope, the devastation and violence continue. There has been much on my mind and troubling my soul.
I have been profoundly shaken by the relentless brutal killing and punishment innocent Palestinian civilians have endured due to an antagonistic and oppressive Israeli government. I am deeply upset by the vicious murders, hostage-taking, and dangerously antisemitic views of Hamas.
My thoughts go out to all those in the Palestinian and Jewish communities and their diasporas who continue to be directly affected by this ongoing conflict.
Kidnapping, unlawful incarceration, public humiliation, dehumanization, and violence committed in the name of retaliation and justice are unacceptable. Rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war are inexcusable. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism in all its forms are horrid.
Likewise, healthcare and humanitarian workers should not be targets. Journalists and media workers should not be killed for simply doing their jobs.
I too am concerned by cultural institutions that censor writers, journalists, artists, and cultural workers who choose to speak out about Israel and Palestine.
I like to think that carte blanche is a digital blank space, a platform where diverse and marginalized voices of all kinds can feel safe to share their stories and creative work with you, our readers. A place where thoughtful discussion and debates are welcomed and encouraged. My hope is that this magazine can be a creative venue which supports peace, equality, social justice, and freedom of expression.
In the coming year, I am committed to welcoming pitches for the carte blanche blog, where I hope to spotlight reviews, interviews, profiles, and work by Muslim, Jewish, IBPOC, and other marginalized voices and creators, alongside the work found in our regular three annual issues.
My adopted family members lived through fascist dictatorships in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. My blood ancestors survived genocide in Cambodia. I mourn the devastation and loss of life in this heartbreaking conflict. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past.
I sincerely hope that a permanent ceasefire is achieved with a free Palestine and a safe home for Israelis. May a serious diplomatic solution with a long-term, concrete, and peaceful plan for coexistence be attainable in our lifetimes.
There’s a beautiful digital drawing that I wanted to share created by Montréal artist and writer, Billy Mavreas, which states “from the river to the sea may there be peace.”
You can find it, along with other works at Mavreas’s blog.
To our readers, peers, and colleagues who are looking for ways to further educate themselves, to stand in solidarity, and to take meaningful action, here is a list of recommended resources I found helpful:
PEN concerned by chill on discussions of Israel-Hamas war
An Open Letter in Support of the Scotiabank Protestors at the Giller Prize Ceremony
PEN Canada: Canada Must Insist on Safety for Journalists Operating in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank
ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross
Doctors Without Borders/MSF Canada
Thank you, be safe, and take care of yourselves during this holiday season.
Greg Santos
Editor-in-Chief
carte blanche magazine
Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, December 2023