Editor's Turn:

Jeff Cebulski

Every month, we here at the Kennesaw Review are heartened by the influx of material sent by writers, both fledgling and itinerant, who seek publication in our own still-evolving operation. Everything—and I mean everything—gets read, scrutinized, and critiqued by several people before the fickle finger of fate points in one of two directions: toward the printed web page or toward the File of Ignominy. Once in a while, we think something is “a good idea” that needs further development; that author, working with one of us, has a chance at publication by being a good sport and an active learner…and we end up with a good piece.

To borrow a freshman phrase, all in all, the effort to complete one issue of the I encompasses many hours, several individuals, a few cells, a web of crossing emails, and attempts to find the time to meet, plan, commiserate…whatever it takes.

And then…the inevitable critiquing, the reflective procedure of asking ourselves who and what we are and what we want to be, added to the inexhaustible quandaries of cataclysmic class schedules and venue changes that threaten to break up a gang of literary ruffians who believe in the chance for writers to be seen and for literary discourse to emerge.

The struggle to maintain the “group” and deal with our professional responsibilities has caused, much to our dismay, the delay of this, our 2004 finale. Our chagrin is real, yet, behind the scenes, hope reigns.

To promote efficacy and energy, we are proceeding to organize ourselves into areas of editorial strength, tightening our reach but stretching our base.

For example, those of us interested in the development of the Reviews Section (as we now call it) have collaborated to form an editorial group that will concentrate on refocusing and expanding the content of that section. We will discover and entreat a core group of reviewers as we continue to give a good look at new authors and poets. At the same time, we want to participate in the grand scheme of literary criticism by asking our writers to develop commentaries on selected authors, looking for original approaches and themes to attract new readers. We even expect, some day, to have interactivity built in so that you, our readers, can participate.

Meanwhile, my cohorts in the other areas will also lend their own expertise toward the development of our other sections, including a prose expansion into short fiction and creative non-fiction (see this issue for the start of that), besides our already bustling poetry division.

In short—we believe in what we are doing and endeavor to succeed. As an extension of a growing literary community in the New South, the Kennesaw Review is as dedicated to revitalization as many of you are in having yourselves be exposed as authors. We meet—here—at a place that can grant us our dreams if we can only divvy and use the energy to create the space that attracts those who still believe in the power of the word.