LRR 2024 Preview

This issue of Long River Review carries with it the weight and maturity oa literary magazine can only gain over the course of 27 years of publication. Throughout the process of creating this edition, each decision felt hefty; our staff knew this issue would define Long River Review’s past and lay out the roadmap for the future. At the start, we had no overarching theme in mind, only the belief that the voices who needed to be heard would be amplified. The pieces are not directly connected, but intertwined, weaving together through a narrative of uncertainty. As you read along, you’ll find that they are written from distinct points of reflection, focusing on friendship, love, worker’s strife, and grief. A theme I would loosely define as defiance of expectations.

Our journal starts and ends with a poem. “Second Overdue Notice” begins Issue 27 with a sense of urgency. The middle section is composed of works that explore breaking away from preconceived notions of love, youth, and life. The characters in these pieces have to question their belief in the self; they have to explore ending a marriage, the complexity of familial relationships, coming to terms with childhood memories, and the generational impact of immigration. This journey only intensifies toward the end with the pieces that grapple with ranging from being overworked, to disability narratives, to school shootings.The last poem “You’ll Arrive at Identical Measurements,” concludes Long River Review with more questions than answers.

I believe these feelings of defying expectations and uncertainty came from the challenges presented to Long River Review at the start of the spring semester. Our staff didn’t know if we would have the funding to print our beloved magazine – a fear that scared us yet shocked us into action.

The University of Connecticut faces academic budget cuts over the couple years. As we have seen time and time again at universities throughout the country, arts and humanities programs are always some of the first to be cut.

At the end of the year, I will leave my position of editor-in-chief feeling proud of our staff and the issue we produced. But I will worry whether the Long River Review will see issue 28, 29, or 30.

This issue of the Long River Review is more than a labor of love. It is more than a magazine to amplify voices. The issue you are holding in your hands is a fight the importance of art and the community found in literature. This magazine is a testament to defying expectations.