Volume 29, Issue 1 (2015)

There was discussion this year, just as there has been in the past, of assigning Midwestern Review’s fall edition a theme. Talks never got to the point of even spitballing ideas—most likely because we would probably quarter our submission quantity if we required pieces to actually stick to an assigned topic. In the end, we went free-form like usual. Still, it hasn’t stopped me now from considering what might’ve been.

Love? Hope? Peace? We’re not a Hallmark card. Okay, let’s think narrower. How about nature, outer space, or the human body? If there was a quota for pretentiousness, we’d be making it a few times over. What about the future? Possible, but I think this generation is already bitter enough just trying to convince themselves that the unpaid internship they took last summer was definitely a worthy time investment—because it will look good on a résumé.

It’s only when I took a second look at our lineup this semester that I realized we didn’t have to pick a theme: the art did it for us. Yeah, you knew that phrase was coming. Settle down.

I’m not going to be the monocle-sporting English major who declares before God and the world that, yes, these works by unrelated authors are all, in fact, speaking directly to one another. Still, once you’ve given this volume a good look, I think you’ll come to agree: there are common threads impossible to miss—of loss, memory, generational bridging, and personal rediscovery, with some humor mixed in for good measure. I think any literary magazine should be proud to wear all those themes on its sleeve, and I’m certainly proud of our staff, writers, and artists this semester. Hopefully, the works contained herein will delight, surprise, and maybe even inspire you to submit something of your own for our spring issue.

The theme isn’t up to me, after all. It’s up to you. Unless you’re trying to theme it something like Star Wars or Taylor Swift, obviously. We don’t have the budget for those inevitable legal fees.