Volume 14.1

Letter from the Editors

Dear Readers,

It’s hard to think of anything else right now aside from Ukraine. As of this writing, the Russians haven’t yet taken Kyiv, but they’ve surrounded it. The news is filled not only with images of decimated towns and shell-shocked citizens but also of people and places bracing for attacks. That is, there’s a tangible air of greater violence in the offing. This is all atop the fact that many of us here in the US are still reeling from our failed efforts in Afghanistan, forcing us to wonder what the purpose was of the two decades of fighting there.

The events in Ukraine and Afghanistan certainly aren’t the only examples of contemporary war or geopolitical violence, though they help serve as sharp reminders of the need for increased discussions and focused actions related to such conflicts. To that end, we are eager to bring you another volume of compelling prose, poetry, and visual art that can serve as a starting point for these discussions and, hopefully, efforts for change. As in our last issue, we’ve loosely arranged the selections here, juxtaposing those that share themes or motifs, so that their ideas and sentiments reverberate.

For example, in this volume you’ll find pieces exploring the physical and psychic journeys individuals undergo because of world conflicts, the countless ways war complicates and subverts family dynamics, the influence the natural world has on our machinations, and, maybe most conspicuously, the ways in which we might navigate a world filled with conflict and violence via the second installment of our What is War Poetry? series. In this iteration, our focus is set on the Bhagavad Gita.

However, also as in Volume 13, picking up on these themes and motifs is absolutely not necessary to engage with and enjoy this work. Quite the opposite is true, as we encourage you to find your own connecting threads. That said, we did close out the volume with pieces that evoke perseverance or change. We ask you this, then: Dare we feel hopeful at the end of a war journal?

In times like these, we’ll let you decide.

Sincerely,
The Editors