Shelbey Leco. Revolution. Mixed media.
Showing Up: An Interview with Susan Poulin
Susan Poulin & Steven Riel
Revolution
Shelbey Leco
Beginning
Fabrice Poussin
Blue Days
Fabrice Poussin
The Rose
Amber Valette
Les Gardiens
Francis Dylan Waguespack
Notre Dame
Rich Cooper
Changes, Always Changes
Denis Ledoux
The Magician's Entrance
Lisanne Gamelin
Bibeau's Estate
Jean LeBlanc
Bibeau in the Buttercups
Jean LeBlanc
Old Bibeau, His Heart on His Sleeve
Jean LeBlanc
Ticket to Heaven
Susan Rose April
La Neige, Touch Pas Ça
Susan Rose April
Laffiette
Jade Laffiette
Reflection over my fourth bread since February 2020
Heather Bourbeau
Qui est là?
Samara Cole Doyon
Saltwater River
Samara Cole Doyon
Midnight Mass at the Cathedral
Jeri Theriault
Emily as Marilyn Monroe from The Marilyn Calendar, 1952
Darren Demaree
Emily as Te avae no Maria by Paul Gauguin
Darren Demaree
pain
Jeanne Douillard
Vi and I
Yves Couture
Five Poems by Joseph H. Roy (1865-1931)
Translated by Louise Peloquin
On Endless Noodling
Pauline Mornet
1662: Barthélémy Verreault Arrives in Canada
Denis Ledoux
Le Mouchoir / The Handkerchief
Jean Pouliot
Oxbows
Suzanne S. Rancourt
My Quiet Revolution
Daphne Stratton Gignac
Ron Currie, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne (Fiction)
Review Essay by Joan Vermette
Chase Cormier, Mal (Fiction)
Review by Joshua Barrière (Written in English - Cliquez ici pour lire ce compte rendu en français)
Julianne Mangin, Secrets of the Asylum: Norwich State Hospital and My Family (Non-fiction)
Review by Megan St. Marie
Brad Richard, Turned Earth (Poetry)
Review by Claire Raymond
As we publish our seventh annual issue, I can’t help but to mention Grégoire Chabot, the deceased playwright whose inspiration and leadership originally led to the founding of this journal.
One thing I find striking about the varied pieces in this volume is that several reflect how the French language factors into the lives of many Franco-Americans in our era. In Susan Rose April’s poem “La Neige, Touch Pas Ça,” the speaker reaches out to siblings for a ragged and humorous collective groping after the French they heard as children. Yves Couture offers a different sort of yearning in his poem “Vi and I”: that of a younger person towards an older relative who is the last person in his family fluent in French. What the great-aunt in Francis Dylan Waguespack’s remarkable story “Les Gardiens” passes on has more to do with wisdom than language, but she demonstrates the reality of code-switching as she alternates between Kouri-Vini and Louisiana French depending on whom she’s communicating with.
It is a joy to feature the work of more than one visual artist in this issue. We are deeply indebted to our Louisiana Creole Co-editor Jonathan Mayers for making this possible by taking on the additional role of Interim Arts Editor when Erica Vermette stepped aside after doing a superb job for years.
I was extremely pleased when the prominent writer/performer Susan Poulin agreed to be interviewed for this volume. The series of interviews we’ve published over time helps to bring additional—and hopefully, illuminating—attention to some of our most talented creative writers and visual artists.
Our editors invite you to explore the offerings found in this issue.
—Steven Riel, Editor-in-chief