We are thrilled to welcome you
to the fourth issue of our first year of publication. Producing
these four issues, we've traversed a learning curve with lots of
ups and downs, but it's also been satisfying to see Facets
take shape. Since we published our first issue on January 15,
2001, we've seen the number of new visitors a day increase
threefold, including visitors from Europe, Africa, Australia,
and the Middle East. The quantity and quality of submissions is
also very heartening.
However, while we celebrate our
first year of publication, we are mindful of the awesome affect
of the terrorist attacks of September 11th on all our lives. We
do not believe that these events are peripheral to the concerns
of literature. Since it may be in the very nature of language to
capture what is transitory, in a deep sense literature may
always deal with loss--whether it's lost childhood, lost love,
or lost life. We posted two remarkable poems about September
11th on our preview page ("Executive Order" and "Skydiver"),
include some more pieces here, and invite submissions on this
subject. As one of the poets in this issue insists, writing is
grieving (see
http://www.pageonelit.com/Tragedy/JBuck.html
).
In Issue No. 4, several
excellent writers return to these pages: Janet Buck, Marion
Cohen, Robert Klein Engler, Ward Kelley, Daniel Sumrall, Kelley
White, and James Whitley. We are also publishing two writers for
the first time, Gopakumar Devanarayanan ("Few
Sensible Things") and
Shelley Ettinger, whose stunning poem, "Skydiver,"
was featured on our preview page.
Please visit the site again for
previews of Volume II, Issue No. 1! Thank you.
Anne M. Hudson and
William Routhier
October 23, 2001
COVER
