Editorial Introduction (25.1)

Batya Weinbaum

Welcome to 25.1!

We are pleased to welcome new members to the collective, one of whom, Lucía Bausela-Buccianti, introduces herself in the feature, “Behind the Scenes.” She joins the team from Spain, further expanding our internationalist dimension as was part of our original declarative mission. She has graciously taken over as our new production editor. We greatly appreciate the enthusiasm which she brings to this work. In her piece, written as a letter to our readers, she explains what brought her to the organization.

We are also proud to present work of the old timers and long-term participants. Sylvia Kelso, for example, has been with us from the start, since the founding of our original board. Hailing from Australia, she blesses us with one of the strongest poems she has ever submitted, “Elegy for Patricia McKillip.” She conjures with images such as weeping dragons and “The Threefold Goddess” shuttering her six eyes.

In one of this issue’s critical essays, Merry Byrd, one of our staunchest regular collective members who also handles our review section, brings an ecological lens to pop culture. She starts off with a discussion of Snow White as rendered in the new live-action Disney version. She comments on the enduring popularity of the classic fairy tale as evidenced by the three major film versions released in 2012, which was the 75th anniversary of Disney’s original picture.

In other scholarship by a new contributor, an assistant professor from Taiwan writing about the work of Aliya Whitely, other themes are explored such as the concept of male pregnancy in SF stories, delving in to the physical and psychological possibilities of men exploring reproductive processes. This new author also pursues myths of pregnancy and childbirth by looking at reproductive role reversal. She discusses how narratives unfold with images of the female reproductive body and cultural imaginations surrounding women's reproduction.

And as per usual, our review section is stellar covering a broad range of themes and genres including television and film and even an exhibition of Afrocentrism in costume design and a close comparison of Gothic dark fantasy novels.

We also present an artist’s statement by the largely self-taught Barbara Daughter. She explains the art story behind her bright and vivid “Night Story,” featured on our cover. Daughter works largely in acrylics, creating large-scale magical realist paintings of imaginal mythical women with which she aims to inspire us.

We have also included formatting guidelines for those who wish to submit book and media reviews, as we are always seeking further participation in our reviewing team.

Here is hoping that everyone will “survive 25!” We are already at work on this volume's second issue, for which the deadline is August 1. Enjoy!

And I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to anyone who contributed to this process in any way, be that as reviewer, collective member, or contributor.