June 2003

This last year has been a crazy one for this website's existence. As I've said elsewhere (and at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging-- not at all my intent, although isn't it cool?!), last summer, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to go to England for three weeks. This, obviously, is one of an American English major's greatest wishes– to see those places that we have read about (the Bloody Tower, the Traitor's Gate, Stonehenge, Bloomsbury, you name it). We Americans are still sort of colonials-- England still feels like home for whatever reason and wherever our ancestors actually came from(mine from Germany & Ireland). In the midst, however, of trying to finish my PhD, study for my preliminary exams, write the proposal for the dissertation, continue the work of teaching at the University I hope will hire me one day "for real" and not make them mad because I'm too distracted to teach well, the zine has definitely gone on the back burner. Last winter's issue was small– only one of our editorial board members was able to turn out any significant updates (for which I am amazed; I wonder where she finds the time!) I complained about this in a rant in January-- just in case you haven't heard enough of my whining.

At first, it didn't look much better, time-wise, for me in this Summer issue. I've always done "the lioness' share" on this site– publish the majority of the HTML, edit the articles and double-check over that which is already edited by one of the other board members, find links to add, solicit authors for interviews. I'm doing the "poetry editorship" right now, too, having lost my poetry editor a while back (I hope she's writing her own stuff, but I sure do miss the help!) I do the graphic art manipulation for the site. I also get and answer the dozens of emails a month from people who want more info, or compliments, or whatever. So time has been stretched. To make a long story short– (too late) I thought I might not have time to do the work on this wonderful project.

But a while back, I hit upon the idea to have Lisa Johnson be guest editor for the scholarly section of the website, partly because I love her work in Jane Sexes it Up, but partly because she's a fabulous scholar in general, and I knew her work would be great. This would, I figured, take some pressure off me to read through the scholarly articles, and it would also add a fresh perspective to our content, allowing Lisa to showcase her specialty on a special issue. I was really excited when I saw the work she was getting. I am more excited now that I am finishing up the last few edits of the essays she's sent. She really got some interesting and well-written work. I really think you'll love it too.

I'm thinking of another special issue for the Winter issue– haven't quite decided on what, yet, but it's not just a time-saving for me issue any more. I think having multiple editorial voices on the site will help the content stretch past my own current obsessions. It will also, hopefully, allow me to keep working on all those balls I have up in the air right now. I am done with some of them, thankfully, and am really progressing on a few others but then somedays, they are barely aloft.

Funnily enough, on reading the submissions and Lisa's introduction to the special issue, I realized that one of the major competitors for this website in my time & energy is my body! Since I went on my "get fit, dammit" campaign two years ago, I spend a couple of hours almost every day working out. I do aerobics, weight lifting, dancing, etc. It's wonderful, and I love the new lean muscles that I have. I am happier and can race up the steps on campus and not get winded. But there is a mind-body split of which I am quite aware which is probably only going to get worse as I get older and more demands upon my time arrive (children being one-- a classic battle for the woman as scholar!) So this issue on auto-biographical-theory informed by our bodies as well as our mind is really quite relevant to me as regular editor too. I suspect it's relevant to an awfully large number of you folks, too. Why is it, then, that we keep fighting the same battles?

So this time, my editor's note is just a note. Not a rant, nor a rave. (I am sort of raving about Lisa, but she already knew how much I appreciated all of her work on this fascinating critical perspective, which I myself am trying to understand better in my own work.)

I'm sure eventually I'll find something else to rave about, or rant about. I've always got something up my sleeve. So read the old ones, and the fabulous issue we have on hand, and enjoy!