6 January 2026 by bobhud

Notes from the Editor (19.1): Far-Flung Francophonie

Robert J. Hudson, Editor-in-Chief, Brigham Young University

In a world where prestige is determined by acceptance rates, publishers may at times be tempted to reject otherwise publishable articles in the interest of keeping those numbers low. As an editor, I freely admit that it is highly gratifying when the review process makes those difficult decisions easier and when the articles published truly represent the best work submitted to the journal, as is the case with the current issue.

When the articles submitted align in meaningful ways, it is even better. While the two article-length essays in the current volume – Peter Schulman’s piece on the use of Chiac in Acadian literature and Glenn Fetzer’s study of the symbolism of the Nile in Egyptian poet Doria Shafik’s French verse – may not, at surface level, appear to have much in common, both examine how French, as an academic and heritage language, a diasporic language, continues to manifest itself in areas and ways that might not be immediately self-evident.

Underlying questions of “Why French?” carry over to the review section when, by sheer happenstance, one of the books already slated for review, Ying Chen’s Impressions of Summer, was translated by none other than one of the contributing scholars of the volume, Peter Schulman. Reflections on his edition of the French haiku of a famed Chinese-Canadian novelist help round out this question of far-flung Francophonie and the persistent influence of French.

 Student author George Dibble contributes yet another thoughtful and thought-provoking review of an Italian film, and a few of my own reviews – mostly treating Québécois cultural products – round out this volume, which we are very pleased and proud to publish.

Provo, 5 January 2026