Bonjour Hi, my name is...
Gersande La Flèche
I am a
About
About & Background
Gersande La Flèche
My Work
I've worked as an independent content editor & copywriter, and English to French translator since 2016 for clients in Montréal and all over the world. I specialize in drafting, editing, and translating creative and literary content, as well as some technical content especially when relating to computer science, technology, and queer, trans & disability issues and policy. My goal is to continuously simplify the communication of complicated concepts without sacrificing elegance.
In my artistic & writing practices, I am always looking for wonder in the world.
Background
To situate myself in the ongoing colonization of North America, I am a settler of Breton, Italian, Irish-Québecois and Colombian heritage who was born and currently lives in Montréal / Tiohtiá:ke, the unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka nation, traditionally the meeting ground between many nations.
I have also worked as a web developer and a programmer since 2010. Between 2012-2014 I co-founded and worked on the not-for-profit Kids Code Jeunesse here in Canada, where I taught children how to make websites and small web-based videogames. My work on Kids Code Jeunesse meant that I often appeared in the media here in Canada. While I left the "Learn To Code" movement to focus on my university studies, I have still liked to work on the periphery of tech community groups, such as with the now-ended Mont Royal Games Society (MRGS) and the ongoing Game Curious Montréal. I still occasionally dabble in the odd programming project.
In 2016 I completed an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing from Concordia University. I do not have any current plans for pursuing an MFA or another degree, though that can always change in the future.
I also love to take photographs, paint, doodle, go on long walks, and mess around on boats, whenever I can.
Oh, and I was in a Minecraft documentary once!
Thank you @acbui for creating this excellent pixelated pipe-smoking portrait of me!
Speaking, Incubators & Press
Work History
Speaking, Incubators & Press
Presentations, Panels, & Colloquiums
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Cinema Politica
Speaker and panelist at the Québec première of Netizens, a documentary on cyberviolence, at Cinema Politica Concordia on March 4, 2019.
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Ctrl-alt-GFV
Speaker at Ctrl-alt-GFV hosted by Groupe Féministe Vidéoludique at the Université de Montréal on October 11, 2017.
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The Building Blocks of Life: A Minecraft Colloquium
Presenter and panelist at the The Building Blocks of Life: A Minecraft Colloquium at Concordia University on February 13, 2015.
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Learning 2030 Conference
Panelist and contributor to the Learning 2030 Conference at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario during September 2013.
Game Jams & Incubators
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Take Care Jam on Preventing Cyberviolence
Participant of the Take Care Jam on preventing and eliminating cyberviolence hosted by the Atwater Library (Montréal, QC) and funded by Status of Women Canada in February 2016.
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Pre-Critical Hit Game Jam 2015
Game built to honour Leonard Nimoy's passing during a 48 hours game jam, using a custom-knit hand and Vulcan ear controller and a Makey Makey. The game is coded in Processing. The game, Eat Long and Prosper can be played on itch.io.
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Pixelles 2 Game Design Incubator
A six-week game design and creation incubator put together by the organization Pixelles, in which each participant creates a complete game from scratch, which culminates in a vernissage in coordination with Festival Montréal Joue where each participant showcases their game.
Press
Interviews & Quotes
- Calling all social justice warriors, archers, and rogues by Tali Ioselevich, McGill Daily, January 2018
- Learning to code is a key ability for kids by Chris Hanna, The Montréal Gazette, January 2014
- Programmed To Learn by Colin Harris, The Link, January 2014
- DragonRoot Radio Interview, November 2013
- Learning 2030 From Books to Screen, TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, October 2013
Writing
Creative Practice
Writing
Blogging
I blog regularly in English and in French about my life, my work, video games, literature, and trying to find wonder in the world.
My 5 most popular blog posts of all time, by a lot, are:
- Building an inventory in Twine 2 with the built-in Harlowe macros, 28th of January 2016
- The apolitical fallacy, 31st of March 2016
- Dumpster diving and pickling pumpkins: ecocritical possibilities in Stardew Valley and its sequel, The gentleman farmer, labour and land: ecocritical possibilities in Stardew Valley in April and May 2016
- Liste de ressources pour un français non-binaire, 4th of April 2019
Other Publications
Weeknotes
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Ampersand lab (&)
In Print
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Matrix Magazing
Online Publications
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Model View Culture
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The McGill Daily
Design, Coding & Games
Work History
Design, Coding & Games
I'm a self-taught programmer who has been making websites since I was a teenager in the mid 2000s. I've also, over the years, dabbled in typography-focused graphic design work. I've got a lot of experience templating and designing websites using Bootstrap 4 (HTML5 + JS + CSS3 web design framework). Lately, I've also been taking more and more layout freelance work to design business brochures and reports.
Some Recent Work:
- All
- Graphic Design
- Games
- Page Layouts
- Websites
Testimonials
Work History
Client Testimonials
Please note that I do not translate client testimonials.
2019
Nous avons eu la chance d’être accompagnées par Gersande lors de la rédaction et la traduction de documents. La précision de son travail, sa capacité à être juste dans l’estimation du temps et des montants ainsi que sa grande facilité à comprendre les enjeux et messages importants nous donnent une grande tranquillité d’esprit. Grâce à son aide et son talent, nous sommes en mesure de nous concentrer sur le fond et savons que le reste sera entre bonnes mains.
Gabrielle Bouchard
Gersande m'a été d'une grande aide dans la correction des textes de mes demandes d'admission pour des universités anglophones. En plus de ses suggestions toujours pertinentes et de ses retours rapides, ses méthodes de correction et ses explications m'ont permis de saisir beaucoup de subtilités de la langue anglaise, d'améliorer la qualité de mes écrits, et puis de recevoir des offres favorables des universités en question. Je suis entièrement satisfaite de mon expérience avec Gersande, et je recommanderai très certainement ses services à mon entourage. Encore merci !
Justine Dupont
Gersande treats the work with the utmost respect and passion for the craft of storytelling. They are a thoughtful, thorough, impassioned, enthusiastic, vibrant, gentle, otherworldly proof-reader and editor.
Michael Berto
2018
Gersande a su capter l'esprit de mes poèmes et traduire leur essence avec imagination, précision et subtilité. Je recommanderais ses services sans hésiter!
Maryse Andraos
I sent in a last-minute request for English to French translation for an important grant application for our video game company. Gersande was easy to work with, professional, and swift. We will definitely get in touch with them in the future if we need more translation, since they have the soft skills and technical knowledge to understand and explain our work.
Samantha Cook
2017
Gersande is a fast and creative translator. They were very quick to communicate and ask questions, and made sure the tone of our project was respected — with a speedy turnaround to boot. Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for help with their creative works!
Mattias Graham
Gersande did an incredible job editing my personal statement and proved to me the value of a good editor. I'll definitely be asking Gersande to look over my writing in the future.
Wendy Liu
Gersande is a talented editor and writer with a remarkable critical mind and a keen eye not just for technical errors, but also word-flow and clarity. They’ve always provided me with excellent constructive feedback on my written work and I highly recommend working with them on all sorts of creative projects.
Carolyn Jong
