Editor’s Note
Here at carte blanche, we like to say “there’s more than one way to tell a story” and rather than following a theme, we opened things up by having no theme for this issue. The cb team and I were curious what type of work we would receive. Would it be an eclectic free-for-all? Or would there be some threads from the creative ether connecting pieces to each other?
Within the exceptional pieces found in issue 45, you will find a variety of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, photography, comics, and translations from Québec, Canada, and beyond. I trust you, dear reader, to browse and see what connections you find and what pieces end up resonating personally with you. Here are some highlights:
We are fortunate to be able to share Katia Grubisic’s English translation of “Relieved,” an excerpt from the posthumous book Augustino ou l’illumination by the late, acclaimed Québec writer, Marie-Claire Blais.
In Amanda Merpaw’s erasure poem, the speaker lives with a “melancholy/so melancholy it/opened my letters” and T. Liem’s prose poem “The Water On Mars Vanished This Might Be Where It Went” touches on humankind’s dangerous thirst for life-bringing water and its far-reaching consequences.
Québécois/Acadian poet Dominique Bernier-Cormier’s project “Notes on Translation” consists of concrete visual bilingual poetry, combining French and English visuals and text, accompanied by fascinating historical and person commentary to provide context to these hybrid self-translations.
The creative nonfiction section features Alycia Pirmohamed’s “On Reading ‘A Horizon Line,’” a meditative genre-bending essay-ode on the practice of reading.
H Felix Chau Bradley’s work of fiction “Three Disorientations” touches on the trickiness in navigating relationships, societal expectations, and familiar places.
The photographic works of both Ana Brotas and Isadora Canela offer us meditative and stunning perspectives of nature.
In the comics section, “Pooky” takes a playful but ominous look at how the wonders of A.I. could allow us the chance to know what our fur friends really think of us, but do we really want to know?
There are a few changes to our team that I would like to acknowledge. Firstly, I would like to wish a hearty welcome to our new photography section editor, Shaney Herrmann. Shaney is a photo artist, educator, and visual storyteller from Tiohtià:ke (Montréal) and is currently based in Tkaronto (Toronto), where she is a part-time professor at Humber College. Welcome to the team!
This will be the final issue for Marcela Huerta, who joined our editorial team in 2019. Please take a moment to read her departing write-up which introduces our poetry section. Thank you so much for your dedicated curatorial work as poetry editor with us, Marcela, and best wishes to you on your new endeavours.
As I finish writing this editorial, I am tickled that we are on the cusp of summer in Montréal. I am eager to start enjoying the increasingly warmer and sunnier weather. I hope you, readers, are able to do the same.
Happy browsing carte blanche issue 45 on the screen of your choice, wear sunblock (and perhaps a snazzy hat), and stay safe.
Greg Santos,
Editor-in-Chief
Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, June 2023