Despite the genre categories to the right differentiating fiction from poetry, translation from comics and creative non-fiction, this Fall issue 34 of carte blanche aims to expand the fixity of such literary markers. Jay Ritchie’s piece “Just 8 Men Own Same Wealth As Half The World”—officially categorized as fiction—alternates between verse and prose. In contrast, the poetry section includes Alexandra Dillard’s prose poem “I Feel So Uneasy About,” combining a nostalgic lyrical openness with what resembles the customary paragraph structure of fiction.

Beyond genre cross-pollination, this issue also includes a number of interdisciplinary works, and especially visual material. Gary Barwin’s visual poems brighten up the issue with colourful typographic designs; Kaie Kellough’s poem “Bow” (currently on the carte blanche 3Macs/Raymond James shortlist!) positions a flowing, almost musical image—completed in collaboration with LOKI—between portions of text; both Jane Gatensby‘s short story “On Dorchester Boulevard” and Alexa Sonnefeld’s personal essay “Menus: A Photo Essay” incorporate photographs to illustrate, ground, and expand the context of the narratives presented.

As always, there are too many relevant and exciting new works to mention in this note, but as a whole this issue of carte blanche offers literary output that bends the preconceptions of genre and reaches beyond the discipline-specific writing utensil to partner with other creative fields. As Rasiqra Revulva writes in her concrete piece “Submarine Reflection,” find “an exquisite opening to another reality” and move along this vector till you reach “INSPIRATION.”

With this issue, carte blanche is also saying goodbye to two members of the team: publicist Cason Sharpe and fiction editor Bronwyn Averett. It has been a pleasure working with both of these fine humans and everyone at carte blanche wishes them the best for all future endeavours! In turn, carte blanche also welcomes three new editors: publicist Eli Tareq Lynch, and fiction editors Kasia van Schaik and Fawn Parker. carte blanche is excited to grow, move forward, and explore new editorial directions together!

—Klara du Plessis, Editor-In-Chief