Love is undoubtedly humankind's most exploited subject matter. And yet every year,  all year round, the reproduction of "love" in art, literature, music, and a diverse array of many other fields, continues as if the subject, after all this time, has yet to be exhausted. 

This month,  the traditional celebration of Saint Valentine's Day guarantees that the subject be brought to the foreground and be taken up yet again. As people gather in couples and whisper worn-out phrases to each other in their attempts to make the sincere, albeit recycled, words meaningful and different, one begins to wonder whether we have lost the essence of loving amidst all its typical expressions and its usual commercialized trappings (roses, chocolates, cards, etc.).

In this light, we have asked creative writers to weave their magic. The featured literary works in this issue successfully turn clichès into novel themes, and provide new depths and mileage to a tired subject. Unrestricted by the "common" notions of romantic love, the writers show that love and desire, as subject matters, aren't necessarily worn out topics. The featured writers' skillful handling of his or her chosen language and their daring imagination produces the desired novelty, giving their readers a wider,  and hopefully better, view of everyone's favorite emotion. And in the end, love, as an emotion, is enriched and heightened by this new literature's point-of-view.

And that, I think, is better than roses this Valentine's day.
 

Gio Tavanlar
Webmaster