Dear Readers,

It is not a pleasant feeling whatsoever—that of helplessness, anger—when we witness something vile or read about it in the papers. And indeed, it seems like our media and perhaps even our world view are saturated with horrible events, bad news, and near impenetrable pessimism. There is always a glimmer of hope, however, that a bad deed will not go unpunished, that somehow, there are powers beyond our understanding that will carry us through...

Justice, or lack thereof, is one of the most powerful and longstanding themes in literature. Injustice takes many forms, as the texts in this issue show us — loved ones murdered by corrupt and negligent public officials, refugees fleeing their countries in search of a better life… Quite often, those faced with injustice are ordinary people who believe that society has failed them, or that they are grasping to possess the resources to significantly improve their situation, if such resources even exist. And what follows? Sometimes the only solution, it seems, is revenge— when society fails an individual, they attempt to seek justice at the individual level. As literary history has shown us, the path of revenge has no return. The developing character arc of an individual who seeks justice, whether they succeed or fail, is the greatest example of the human condition.

Regards,

The Editors