CONSEQUENCE

By George Kovach

CONSEQUENCE is a new literary magazine addressing the culture of war in the twenty-first century. By “culture of war” we mean a society’s conscious or unconscious attitude that armed conflict is a necessary means for resolving disputes perceived as threatening. Despite the lessons of history, many nations, ethnic groups and religious factions remain disposed to this attitude. The powerful perpetuate it. Our need to face this reality has never been more acute than it is today.

Literature and art have the potential to create and foster the discourse a democratic society needs to govern itself. Our postmodern world often challenges their efficacy, and in an era of digital technology readers are impatient, less inclined to engage a printed page for thoughtful consideration. Aware of these challenges, we are determined to attract and keep our readers’ interest by offering a range of expression that appeals intellectually and aesthetically, that invites them to step away from the numbing drone of news media and reflect.

Our goals include focused attention to wars in the Middle East. Future issues will expand coverage of their consequences, and introduce the works of a new generation as they emerge. In the brief history of our country, women’s voices usually spoke as witnesses and victims of the waste and suffering caused by war. Now we will increasingly learn of their personal experiences in combat, and come to realize how this affects all of us. Economic pressures on young men and women in the minorities of our society cause their disproportionate numbers in the military. We need to hear from them.

Even if we aren’t touched personally by war, the effects ripple through society and reach every one of us. The impact depends, in part, on how much we know. The mission of this magazine is to give readers access to the true meaning of war that none of the popular media offers. This issue looks back to conflicts of the previous century for historical context. To reflect the experience of other cultures, future issues will offer translations of writers who look at war from a different perspective. If Pound was on the mark when he said “literature is news that stays news,” you will find in these pages a fresh perspective on war and its consequences today.