J;，ditors Note<br > IN THE CONTEXT OF NO CONTEXT<br > "~V~， at good are literary magazines， she often wonders， as she works on one.<br > ~k~/~ What should they accomplish? Sometimes the comments of a reader or a<br > se_lfV ~，i~ritic reinforce ~e ~gency of. such questions， and this is helpful. Skeptical<br > ，c ，ques~，onmg may trarLsrorm into ambtent serf-doubt without the benefit of re-direc-<br > tion， of sharpening. On the event， then， of having been questioned， the editors reply<br > with ~ome notes toward a larger answer.<br > Should literary magazines be committed to a literary/political agenda~<br > She often likes to read magazines that express commitment to particular agendas or<br > communities of writers or lineages of thinking on writing. She believes that magazines<br > do this in order to affirm the inherent value of community and to allow creative work<br > to remnate with and rapport other work that shares its commitments and methods.<br > Nonetheless， her magazine takes a different approach. She feels that much of what is<br > v A_ uable !n writing is hrger than its own context(s). Some magazines should not try to<br > o fler， crmcal or h.ismrical agendas or contextualizarion to work they publish. Others<br > motaa try and then fail. Others should try and then succeed. This is experiment.<br > Dterary magazines together are an experanent. Parts of this experiment will be boring<br > and parts will be crass and other parts still will be exciting and this is all to the eood<br > Sbe feels that it is uselhl to note when artsofit " - ~ - <br > ~， . p are boring or crass or excmng or enw-<br > ~le， ana to note it with sympathy for the larger and shared endeavor.<br > ~eli~ mn~zhle is， among o~ter th~，a llterary position. Must this position<br > She wishfully envisions a literary culture that values expressions of confusion and contra-<br > diction， She wishes our educational system taught tolerance for confusion and contra-<br > diction. She fears we are trying to eliminate confusion and contradiction and that this<br > could increase ignorance and injustice. Ignorance and injustice often being relieved by<br > expressions of curiosity and generosity.<br > ~a p~aps a li~，rary mag~ ne might do well to function as a call for attunement to--<br > _:... ~b， ol~t~n o，f~lter.n.~， ~ddissonant ways of thinking and being， as they are<br > c~q，resseo m wrmng. J laese might include rascally new ways of thinking anti being， old-<br > . fadnoned but as y，~ untried modaliti~， and mainstream but useful or even beautiful<br > perspectives. A can for attunement is not an exact science.<br >