Soliloquies Anthology 30.1

Creating the anthology you hold, the first issue of our thirtieth consecutive year, was intensive, laborious, and so so gratifying. We received well into the hundreds of incredible submissions from dedicated Canadian writers, particularly from members of our own Concordia University community. Over the course of weeks, we sifted through these pieces, and uncovered those which would best encapsulate what we feel represents Soliloquies 30. We could not be prouder with the results.

We couldn’t write about this edition without firstly expressing gratitude. The masthead that we have built has been everything we could dream of, and we truly owe them everything for their dedication to this journal. Our skilled editors carefully considered and discussed each piece, worked closely with our contributors, and meticulously compiled the works you will imminently be reading. This year’s Managing Editor provided crucial administrative support, carefully organizing our submissions and our operations. Both our Social Media Manager and Graphic Designer are talented beyond articulation, and created an image for Soliloquies that we are unbelievably proud of. Finally, our incredible web content team, led by our Web Content Manager, have been tirelessly working to publish digital articles on a weekly basis. The journal in your hands reflects a team of especially talented individuals and their contributions. 

Micaela Day

We owe perhaps our deepest thanks to the contributors who trusted us with their work, who let it be held, turned over, considered and changed. That generosity stayed with us. It was a privilege. And to those whose pieces do not appear in these pages, thank you still: for what was read and what lingered, and for shaping this community by offering your art to journals like ours.

In 30.1, time presses its thumb into the body, age answers the call, and change happens slowly by negotiation. These works look back at childhood, the in-between, and forward into bodies that have lived, bodies that remember. They move through family ties, they consider impulse and momentum, they ache of what almost was. Reckoning unfolds on these pages alongside summer fruit, airplane aisles, backyard barbecues, and other ordinary/extraordinary scenes that hold our lives.

Dear reader, thank you for your ongoing dedication to and interest in the MTL lit scene and beyond. We hope you fall—with love—for these pieces as deeply as we have. We are honoured to share them with you as we inaugurate the thirtieth year of Soliloquies Anthology.

Foster Gareau  

Co-Editors-In-Chief

The content in both of our issues this year challenge what it means to take up space. Our prose takes us into the edges of the cosmos, turning backwards to focus on our digital reality, and later tackles the post-modern issues in the dining industry. Our poetry grapples with questions of intimacy, both in our personal relationships and beyond—going from the edges of the clouds, Decembers, and the icebox.

Our web-content creators, who have been tirelessly working to provide the Soliloquies website with new and refreshing work, are also featured in this issue. Here, we go from a trigger-happy gun enthusiast on a date to eating breakfast with a crow, with incredible writing within and between. 

We hope you are able to pull out the care and dedication from these pages that were put into them. Thank you, as always, for reading. 

Noah Sparrow & Erin Staley

Co-Editors-In-Chief