Category: Letter from the Editors

Greetings, fellow literature lovers, 

This year’s theme for Sumac is “Planting Roots.” As the third issue of this magazine, we wanted to continue with past themes of adventure, but also play with the idea of finding home. Just as the staghorn sumac grows its roots on the land we share, we at Sumac Literary Magazine are establishing ourselves in this community.

We received quite a few submissions that explore the ideas of finding familiarity and comfort in places, objects, and food. In fact, if Sumac received a nickel for every time we received a submission featuring potatoes, we would have three nickels—which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened thrice. So, we decided to integrate them into our theme in some way, hence the focus on roots (and root vegetables).

 A lot of hard work and love went into this issue of the magazine, and we want to acknowledge everyone who helped us along the way. First and foremost, thank you to all of the contributors who submitted to our little magazine. Whether your piece made it into the final product or not, it was a joy and a pleasure to read your beautiful words. We wish we could have included all the pieces that were submitted. We also want to thank all the fine folks on the Sumac team that busted their butts to make this magazine what it is. And a very special thank you to the mentors who guided us along this journey, including Larry Thompson, Master Printer; Kiah Russell, our Teaching & Learning Technician; and our very diligent and very patient instructor, Chris Johnson.

Overall, curating this magazine has been such a remarkable experience for all of us. Without further ado, we present the third issue of Sumac Literary Magazine, “Planting Roots.”

Cheers,
The Sumac Issue 3 Editorial Team

The Sumac Issue 3 Editorial Team consists of students who participated in Carleton University’s ENGL 4139 course during the Winter 2025 term.

Dear Readers,

What is a magazine? How do you carve out something unique while also staying true to what has come before? Can you make that red a little darker? Actually, can you make it a little lighter? What about a little bit more purple? Nope, too much. Can we just go back to what it was before?

These are just some of the questions we here at ENGL 4135 had to tackle while curating and crafting the 2nd issue of Sumac: Finding Your Footing. 

This class is titled Studies in Publishing, but that is a bit of a misnomer. While we did study in this class, most of what we did was, well, doing. We learned on our feet, thrown into the deep end of literary magazine publishing. It was hard to choose the 25 pieces we are publishing from the myriad of wonderful submissions we received from people all across the Carleton community. This year’s theme, Finding Your Footing, continues the journey of words and poetry that the first issue of Sumac, Issue 1: Embark, embodies—many of our contributors are students who are beginning to embark on their life’s journeys and finding their footing in the literary world. Without your submissions, our magazine wouldn’t be able to exist, so to all those who have sent us your writing, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. 

We would also like to thank the incredible work done by the entire Sumac team: our dedicated managerial, editorial, and promotional team members. We could not have completed Sumac Issue 2 without the expert mentorship and guidance of Chris Johnson, our instructor, and Larry Thompson, Master Printer of the Carleton Book Arts Lab, as well as the team that worked on the 1st Issue. You laid the groundwork for us to build upon and inspired us to uphold the standards you set for the magazine. 

We hope these stories of discovering places, community, and yourselves will move you as they have moved us. And to any future Sumac team members, remember to take a breath and ensure you’re on solid ground. If you try to run without being sure-footed, you’ll just trip. 

— Sumac Editorial Team 2024

The Sumac Issue 2 Editing Team consists of students who participated in Carleton University’s ENGL 4135 course during the Winter 2024 term.

Dear Readers,

Whether you are finally putting pen to paper, encouraging yourself to start a new hobby, or taking the first step in a journey to self-discovery, starting something new can be daunting. This leaves a choice: keep things the way they are, or embark on a new chapter.

For us students in ENGL 4135, we’ve had the chance to begin something new at Carleton; we were tasked with creating the first Issue of a new literary magazine that would launch in the spring. Each one of us on the team was challenged to make this a reality. Over the course of the winter semester, we made hard decisions, had disagreements, laughed, stressed, and worked hard to bring together this first Issue of Sumac.

We are proud to feature amazing work from many talented writers within the Carleton community with a wide range of diverse perspectives and topics. From relatable tales about living through the pandemic to dynamic portrayals of love, Issue 1 of Sumac brings with it a variety of works that represent the many stories that stem from our campus. 

The sumac plant, the namesake of our project, represents the connection between these stories and their authors. Sumac is not only native to Canada, but can be found internationally, symbolizing the far reach of our community, which is made up of many different names, backgrounds, and walks of life. The symbol of the sumac encompasses the roots that bind us together. 

We would like to thank our artists/editors, Autumn Swan and Amirah Alam, for their invaluable contributions to the illustrations of this Issue. They both worked tirelessly to create the visual art that complements the amazing pieces of literature from our contributors. Additionally, we would like to thank and credit our website designer Xinpeng Liu, without whom we would not have our magazine. We have been so fortunate to work with such amazing, artistic talent.

We would also like to thank our professor Chris Johnson, our TA Sarah Pelletier, and the Master Printer of the Carleton Book Arts Lab Larry Thompson for guiding us through this very rewarding journey. Their guidance has been imperative to the creation of Sumac, and we hope to leave behind a legacy they can be proud of.

Lastly, we thank everyone who submitted to this first Issue for their contributions. We could not have accomplished this project without our contributors, submitters, and supporters. Your talent, vulnerability, and passion for writing is what keeps little magazines like ours alive.

Sumac Issue 1, “Embark,” marks the beginning of a journey that will hopefully continue within Carleton for years to come. We are grateful for this opportunity to bring Sumac to life and we hope you enjoy the selected works. 

The Issue 1 Editing Team ♥

The Sumac Issue 1 Editing Team consists of 11 students who participated in Carleton University’s ENGL 4135 course during the Winter 2023 term.

Like sumac, you’ll find us around campus!