Font

01/10/2024

"To the team, my deepest thanks. It has been such a joy to work with you all, and I will miss you. Linda, you are quite simply an icon, and I have been constantly inspired by your curiosity, your rigour, and your warmth. Deanna, for your meticulousness, your clever insight, and your unceasing care. Edward, for your incredibly fast and thorough editing, your willingness to discuss many of the finer points of ‘voice’, and your unexpected pop-culture references. To Farah and the house9 crew, you rock. To the contributors, and to you, the Font readers – thank you.
It has been a pleasure.”

Say goodbye with us and read "Font Staff Reflect" by Deanna Radford, Edward He and Rachel McCrum

Edward He (Copy Editor), Deanna Radford (Digital Media Editor) and Rachel McCrum (Editor in Chief) were Font’s staff from September 2021 to December 2023.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/font-staff-reflect

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Image: Deanna Radford at Font’s ‘live’ Issue, June 2022.
Photo credit: Michael Kovacs

01/05/2024

"The idea behind Font was that writers and other literary artists want not only to create new work but to see it published, out in the world. They need the validation of being published.”

Read "The Story of Font" by Linda Leith

Montreal writer Linda Leith is the founder of Blue Metropolis Foundation and was president and artistic director of the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival until 2010. She created Linda Leith Publishing | Linda Leith Éditions in 2011. Her most recent book is The Girl from Dream City: A Literary Life (URP, 2021).

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/a-farewell-from-font

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12/30/2023

"in a region
that is said to have no roads,
how does one find a way
to come back so many times?”

Read "how does one find a way to come back so many times" by Noémie Pomerleau-Cloutier

Noémie Pomerleau-Cloutier is an award winning poet, an embroiderer and a cultural mediator from Baie-Comeau who now lives in Rimouski.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/how-does-one-find-a-way-to-come-back-so-many-times

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Image: Mont Parent, Blanc-Sablon Photo credit: Noémie Pomerleau-Cloutier

Image: Mont Parent, Blanc-Sablon Photo credit: Noémie Pomerleau-Cloutier in a region that is said t…

12/26/2023

"Over the course of eighteen months, between the fall of 2021 and winter of 2023, interviews and research were conducted to bring memories, anecdotes, and insights into a storybook-type format. The goal was to create ten to twelve digital heritage capsules that contain stories, images, and recorded voices of topics that clearly helped to define the communities.”

Read "North Shore Heritage Capsules: Insights and Reflections" by Stephen Kohner

Stephen Kohner has been an avid photographer since 1980. He currently lives in Baie-Comeau.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/north-shore-heritage-capsules-insights-and-reflections

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Image: Don Goodfellow, Photo credit: Stephen Kohner

12/21/2023

"We are here,
a hopeful people with a future unclear,
divided by lines we can not see,
held back by forces that can never agree.”

Read "Seaglass" by Caitlin Jewelle Rowsell

Caitlin Jewelle Rowsell is an aspiring artist and poet from Harrington Harbour.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/seaglass

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12/18/2023

"The Reunion at Salmon Bay is the most personal film I’ve ever made. It’s my way of expressing my appreciation to everyone, from George Pell on, who has assisted me during my ongoing voyage of discovery of the Lower North Shore.”

Watch "The Reunion at Salmon Bay" by Louise Abbott

Louise Abbott is an award-winning writer, photographer, and filmmaker from the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/the-reunion-at-salmon-bay

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12/15/2023

"I know not
what I’ve come here to find

I’ve never known how to stay in one place
the ground always gives way

the ends of the world
have become my escape”

Read "The Patience of Lichen" by Jeffrey K. Butt

Jeffrey K. Butt is a literary translator based out of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/the-patience-of-lichen

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I know not what I’ve come here to find I’ve never known how to stay in one place the ground alwa…

12/14/2023

La dix-septième et dernière édition du magasine anglophone Font est maintenant disponible! 🌊🐚⚓️🚢

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/?fbclid=IwAR0e1bSKIsFc1J0lHQ7JcvLUYhex5YVPAZFWkLS5igedldxHP8YD7dVA9uk

"This is a personal treat for me. Although I’ve only made it as far the River Mish-te-shipu— ‘great river’ in Innu-aimun, the language of the Innu, Indigenous people of this region—I adore the salt and wildness of the landscape. Until I can explore further, I’m delighted to let these Coasters tell us about the life in Blanc-Sablon, Harrington Harbour, Baie-Comeau and more." - Rachel McCrum, Font Editor-in-Chief

💡 En savoir plus sur Font : https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-
🔍 Lire ou relire la toute première édition intitulée Young Black Writers : https://fontmag.ca/issue/young-black-writers/

12/11/2023

"There are endless reasons to love this region, including its breathtaking scenery, the kindness of its people, and both its cultural and historical significance that date back nine millennia."

Read "Between two worlds: Living on the border" by Jake Letto

Jake Letto is a young writer from the Lower North Shore.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/article/between-two-worlds-living-on-the-border



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12/06/2023

The Fall Issue, entitled Writing from the North Shore, is now live!

https://fontmag.ca/issue/writing-from-the-north-shore/

Well, here it is – the seventeenth and last edition of Font. Just over two years from our first Issue – Young Black Writers – and we are incredibly proud of what has been published in this time. You can read more about the story of how Font came to be from LLP/Font publisher Linda Leith, as well as some final reflections from the Font staff.

But let’s celebrate our final issue: writing from the North Shore of Quebec! This is a personal treat for me. Although I’ve only made it as far the River Mish-te-shipu— ‘great river’ in Innu-aimun, the language of the Innu, Indigenous people of this region—I adore the salt and wildness of the landscape. Until I can explore further, I’m delighted to let these Coasters tell us about the life in Blanc-Sablon, Harrington Harbour, Baie-Comeau and more. Jake Letto takes us right up to the Quebec-Labrador border, with its associated time-related complexities, while Caitlin Jewelle Rowsell gives us an unforgettable metaphor for the resilience of those who live on the edge. Stephen Kohner’s reflection on the Heritage Capsule project opens up the stories of seniors and community since the 1950s, and Louise Abbott’s Reunion at Salmon Bay is a beautiful reflection on her enduring ties to the area. Finally, Baie-Comeau-born poet Noémie Pomerleau-Cloutier’s work from her award winning collection La Patience du Lichen (La Peuplade, 2021) appears in a new translation by Jeffrey K. Butt, and also in an original poem in English.

We hope, as always, that you enjoy.

Rachel McCrum

Rachel McCrum is the editor of Font.

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07/20/2023

"We’re like a laboratory for climate change. You can quite literally observe it, happening in real time."

An Interview with Alexander Reford

Alexander Reford is a professional historian and Director of the Reford Gardens//Les Jardins de Métis. He has written numerous books and articles, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2021.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/an-interview-with-alexander-reford



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Image: Jardins de Métis//Reford Gardens Photo: Creative Commons Image: Alexander Reford Photo: Ali…

07/17/2023

"We have to get closer to be able to identify them, but this is a good start. We start paddling faster, being sure to cause as small of a disturbance as possible. We make our way toward the creatures (which turn out to be fin whales) when we notice that they seem to be in distress."

Read "The Whale Encounter" by Caitlin Siemon

Caitlin is a recent high school graduate who writes originally from Australia but has lived in the US and now Montreal.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/the-whale-encounter



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I’m out on the water in a kayak

07/13/2023

"Sources, a cycle of works for clarinet and electronics inspired by the Saint Lawrence River, is a result of my time spent along this waterway. This album traces the Saint Lawrence from its headwaters in Georgian Bay, through the bird sanctuaries of the Saint Lawrence Parks Commission and the Old Port of Montreal, to the Magdalen Islands where the Gulf of Saint Lawrence flows into the Atlantic Ocean."

Listen to "Sources: Music Inspired by The St. Lawrence River" by Louise Campbell

Louise Campbell is a Montreal-based musician and cultural mediator who spends as much time as she can biking along waterways across Canada.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/sources-music-inspired-by-the-st-lawrence-river



Louise Campbell
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A long-time Montrealer, as much as I love the bustle and vibrancy of my hometown, I crave spending t…

07/10/2023

"We humans have survived many energy transitions throughout the ages, and we’ll definitely find the moxie to do so again. If we’ve learned anything from previous energy transitions—from wood to coal; from wind to steam; from coal to oil—it is this: all energy transitions are liminal."

Read "Betwixt Between" by Joan Sullivan

Joan Sullivan is a photographer and writer focused on the climate crisis, living in Quebec’s Lower Saint Lawrence region.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/betwixt-between



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Photo: Joan Sullivan Photo: Joan Sullivan I spent the greater part of the 2010s climbing to the top…

07/07/2023

"Without a doubt, the landscape has changed immensely, and today global warming is accelerating change. Ignoring the process will not make it go away. It would be far wiser to take stock of what is happening and move appropriately."

Read "Wake-up Call" by Mary Soderstrom

Mary Soderstrom is a Montreal-based writer of fiction and non-fiction. Against the Seas: Saving Civilizations from Rising Waters, in which the St. Lawrence estuary features prominently, is her 18th book.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/wake-up-call



Mary Soderstrom
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Photo: Mary Soderstrom Toward morning I awoke to hear my husband breathing strangely. For a while I…

07/03/2023

"The River is the Dominion.

From an inch-large stream, from a quiet lake,

reaching valleys and cities.

Everlasting.

Even in beauty, danger arises;

cruel is the Master."

Read "A Letter Left Unopened" by Ellie Chartier

Ellie Chartier is a writer and playwright based in Montreal.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/a-letter-left-unopened



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The River is the Dominion

06/29/2023

"This is where they learn to love and cherish the mighty Saint Lawrence and its shores. Hopefully they will learn to respect it and thus avoid any more massacres."

Read "Bic Harbour Massacres." by Judy Parceaud

Judy Parceaud is an emerging writer who grew up in Windsor, England. She emigrated to Canada as a young bride with her Parisien husband and settled in Northern Quebec. Following the death of her husband she moved to Bic in the Lower St Lawrence to carry on their retirement dream.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/bic-harbour-massacre



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Image: Bridge between Pointe-aux-Anglais and Massacre Island. Image: Entrance to the cave. Photo: Ca…

06/26/2023

"Un-tethered, un-occupied, un-disciplined land, made from shifting and slipping between worlds."

Read "July, 1953." by naakita f.k.

naakita f.k. is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Tio’Tia:Ke/Mooniyang/Montreal.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/july-1953



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Image: "July, 1953." Video still Photo credit: naakita f.k. Image: "July, 1953." Video still Photo c…

06/22/2023

"The river bestows and the river nurtures."

Read "Spring Observations along the Saint Lawrence Estuary" by Catherine Parceaud.

Originally from Chibougamau, Catherine Parceaud is an emerging writer, teacher and outdoor enthusiast who shares her time between the Lower Saint-Lawrence and Nunavik.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/spring-observations-along-the-st-lawrence-estuary



https://www.facebook.com/catherine.parceaud
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Image: Brant geese Photo credit: Catherine Parceaud Photo credit: Catherine Parceaud Photo credit: C…

06/19/2023

"Wandering along nearby paths always find me admiring views of bay and open water, interrupted by rocky edges covered with forest and moss."

Read "Close to Home" by Lisa Wagner

Lisa Wagner is a lifelong educator, nature-lover, gardener, writer, and traveler, and resident part-time in Rimouski (Mi’gmaq territory).

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/article/close-to-home



https://www.facebook.com/lisa.wagner.16100
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Image: Île-aux-Amours, Parc du Bic Photo credit: Lisa Wagner Image: Snow geese beyond the marsh, S…

06/16/2023

The Summer Issue, entitled Eco-anxiety, Resilience, and the Lower Saint Lawrence, is now live!

https://fontmag.ca/issue/eco-anxiety-resilience-and-the-lower-st-lawrence/

Welcome back to Font, as we continue our new seasonal publishing schedule!
In Summer 2023, Font returns to the Lower Saint Lawrence and Les Jardins de Métis//the Reford Gardens, to explore our relationship and responsibility to the river and to the place in which we make our home in a time of climate crisis and eco-anxiety.

It has been a pleasure to work with new writers and artists with close connections to the area, as well as some returning contributors. For the most part, these are people who have an intimate connection to the region, and have seen both beauty and destruction―and resilience—in their lifetime. Their reflections are linked by the lived truth of seeing their place change over time, and wonderment at how humanity will adapt and ally itself to the changing natural world.

Lisa Wagner and Catherine Parceaud open up the landscape and birdlife to us, while naakita f.k. and Judy Parceaud reflect on historical activities and ghosts. Mary Soderstrom—who also led a wonderful online writing workshop for contributors— and Joan Sullivan explore human coping measures, and the need for changing attitudes, while Alexander Reford discusses with me how the Reford Gardens has adapted its approach over the years.

Ellie Chartier and Caitlin Siemon offer up reflections on the stories of the river, and Louise Campbell leads us down the course of the Saint Lawrence with a track from her stunning new album Sources.

This is a Font issue that feels timely, urgent, and—in the conscience and care demonstrated by each of the contributors—not without hope. We hope that you enjoy.

Rachel McCrum

Rachel McCrum is the editor of Font.



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Welcome back to Font, as we continue our new seasonal publishing schedule! In Summer 2023, Font retu…

05/12/2023

Font is preparing for a very special Summer 2023 Issue - join our writing workshop with Mary Soderstrom next week and contribute!

A Gathering of Waters: A Writing Workshop with Mary Soderstrom & Font.
Wednesday 17 May, 10am—1pm (online).

“There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, yet for attacking things that are hard and strong there is nothing that surpasses it, nothing that can take its place.” Lao Tzu

Writer Mary Soderstrom (author of Against the Seas: Saving Civilisation from Rising Waters and the novels River Music and After Surfing Ocean Beach) will be leading an online writing workshop to explore our relation with the power and wonder of water, in particular the great gathering of waters that is the St. Lawrence River and its estuary. Writings from the workshop will be published in Font magazine in June 2023.

To reserve a place, please email Rachel McCrum at [email protected]. Priority will be given to residents of Lower St Lawrence and the surrounding area. Please note that places are limited.

05/03/2023

Font magazine - Issue #1 - #14, from November 2021 - December 2022!

Miss any of them? You can read them all online in the archives here: https://fontmag.ca/archive/

05/03/2023

There was a meme going around on IG a few months ago: May you live in interesting times. The person…

04/09/2023

"When I decided to make my first short film back in the summer of 2020, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Or rather, I’d forgotten what I was getting myself into."

Read our interview with Sal Eigh, the director of "The Girls of Bathroom B".

Sal Eigh is an emerging screenwriter, director, and producer. Her work explores the mundanity of growing up in a multicultural urban environment.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/qwf-writers-in-complex-times/article/the-girls-of-bathroom-b



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Could you possibly be any slower?

04/04/2023

"Life is not meant to be easy.
To ask life to be simple is suffering."

Listen to "Sugar: Puja for the Inner Child" by Priya Choudhuri.

Priya Choudhuri is a Montreal-based multidisciplinary visual artist and writer. Their work aims to create a bridge between introspection and community, offering thought-provoking interaction.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/qwf-writers-in-complex-times/article/sugar-puja-for-the-inner-child



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At times the wind takes out my fire

03/31/2023

"Slaughter the seals, I am now able to say—lingering too long on the image: a thicket of pronged pikes and the wild swinging of men at dusk. A sea running red."

Read "Shards" by Liam Durcan.

Liam Durcan has published a short story collection and two novels, one of which was awarded the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. He has recently finished a novel about the Winnipeg General Strike.

https://fontmag.ca/issue/qwf-writers-in-complex-times/article/shards



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