This is certainly not to imply that the 20th century has been the fault of the Serbs. As long as we're speaking of nationalisms, it's worth noting that most of the writers in this issue are American, which is fitting given my country's belligerence and hegemony since 1945. Still, as pacifist as we are at Gravity, we recognize that, as a correspondent on my alma mater's listserv keeps pointing out, things are rarely black and white in terms of fault and justification. If you're going to bomb hell out of someone, it can be difficult to know exactly who deserves it more.

This is where we find ourselves with issue 26. I wrote in the first announcement of the theme that I felt that artists have a responsibility to address the world around them, even to commit themselves to a cause. I still believe that, even though such belief puts me well outside the bounds of received wisdom on the subject, and I think that the quality of work in this issue redeems me. Especially recommended are Diane Willadson and Joy Yourcenar, Thomas E. Fuller and Michele Mason.