ABBY PAIGE

Over the summer, I joined the editorial board of Résonance, an on-line literary journal founded by a contingent of Franco-American writers from New England in order to create a gathering space for work by and about Franco-American communities of the United States. Founding Drama Editor, the late Franco playwright, Gregoire Chabot, explained the journal’s mission this way:

“Until recently, Franco-Americans have focused their efforts almost exclusively on preserving and maintaining their language and culture. This is a past-oriented strategy that is useless if we hope to build a future. The future cannot be maintained or preserved. It must be created. To do that, we must ask questions, embrace change, take chances, be different, explore the banned and the damned, discard as needed, and embrace — as it benefits who we want to be.”

I’ve been excited to contribute book reviews and other writing to the first three issues of Résonance, and I feel that I’ve joined the board, as Book Review and Drama Editor, at an auspicious time, just as some exciting momentum has been created to lift us toward the future Gregoire invited us to imagine.

The call for submissions for our fourth issue is up now. Until December 31, 2021, we will be accepting new works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, drama, graphic fiction, and translation that respond to our mission. All of the policies and guidelines are explained on the website.