Editor's Note: A Winter's Tale

Some have asked me if the sun on the cover of our issue is rising or setting. Well, in some ways, I guess that's up to you. Many of us have a reason to be depressed these days, I find, particularly in our rotten political climate and because of our cultural schisms. I hate to be preachy, but the nature of life is cyclical, and there will always be periods of enlightment and periods of knuckle-dragging ignorance. Although we appear to be entering such a Cro-magnon cycle, better days are ahead. Or, as Woody Guthrie said, all you fascists are bound to lose.

Besides, if you're like me, your greatest creative periods come during times of trouble, discord, strife. That said, we will all be creating a lot work in the next few years, and we hope to showcase a lot of it here at JMWW. In fact, we've been growing to accomodate your frenzied submissions, so please be forgiving if it takes us a wee bit longer to get back to you these days. We are still tinkering with the optimal submission process, which is something akin to herding cats.

Speaking of the process, lending us some well-needed expertise this issue is Elizabeth Rhodes, our guest poetry editor. Currently serving as a reference librarian at the University of Baltimore Law Library, Elizabeth at one time served as a children's librarian and, eventually, a lawyer. Ten years of law practice, she says, created an appetite for poetry. Her poems have appeared in Welter and Bite the Ribbon, and she has put in respectable showings at First Night Annapolis poetry slams and won an Editor's Choice award from the National Library of Poetry. We're also pleased to welcome Pam Pieroni on board as our newest fiction editor. A resident of Westchester County, New York, she'll be officially joining the board next issue to grind it out with Catherine, Alyce, and Oana.

Ah, the issue. In our fiction offerings, Christian Bell and Aaron Seaman write of the mistakes and atonements of youth, and David McGrath's essay, "Second Chance," chronicles his experiences with students in the mean streets of a Chicago high school in the early eighties. We then venture to a richer, more mature conversation in our poetry section, thanks to Elizabeth. A thick and unique grain of talent runs through the pieces offered here. Thanks to all of you. Because of your work, we're morphing into a "smart" literary ezine I've always envisioned us to be. No, not pretentious. Smart. Thoughtful. Confident. Speaking softly but carrying a big stick. To club all those fascists, no doubt.

Jen Michalski, Editor