Dear Reader,

I sit in front of a window, watching the snow disappear my neighborhood. The weather has made the world outside so frighteningly new. NPR tells me Washington D.C. and its surrounding suburbs may see 2 feet of snow before tomorrow. The earth is erased in a wash of white and I remember the feeling whenever I encounter a blank page. It is not the exhilaration I assume other artists feel, but a confrontation with an imagined failure. And I am no good at confrontation. Though slowly, I come to find comfort in our community. It’s nice to know that every writer, no matter how recognized, must confront that same page. No matter what brilliance exists in our past, we all start again at the same place. Cool how much “writer” and “winter” have in common. Cool how this art acts as equalizer. This issue of the Dirty Napkin offers writers who have confronted the page exceedingly well. I am honored to share their work with you. Enjoy. And stay warm.

Christopher Goodrich