Translated by Tatiana Rudyak
In a recent conversation, someone dear to me called ROAR “a space for like-minded people.” I wanted to argue with that; I think it’s very important to remember that the authors for ROAR (and I am honored to know many of them personally) are very different people. I think their views of many problems, including politics, can be very different, if we look at them closely. But it is my deepest belief that they are of the one and the same opinion about one thing: the war being waged by the Russian government against Ukraine for more than a year now is unequivocally criminal. And I am incredibly grateful to each of our authors for the clarity, thoroughness, and sometimes bravery they express that opinion with.
My gratitude goes to everyone whose poems, prose, essays, plays, art and sound works are published in this seventh issue of ROAR. And a huge thank you to the amazing team of editors and translators (consisting only of volunteers). I would like to personally thank every one of those who worked on the original version of this issue: its managing editor Maria Voul, and our editors and copy editors J. I., Mark K., Maria Rogova, Ilya Ash, Olga Chaika, Sonya Kobrinskaya, K. B., R., Anton Kukhto, and others, in particular Mikhail Meerson, D. Sc., a scholar who consulted us on Latin translation. For the English version, I would like to thank its managing editor Ada Kordon, Tatiana Rudyak, our editors Colleen Aune, Sarah Bloxham, Jackie Dobbyne, Denise Ganly, Deb Hamilton, poetry editors Michael Antman, Michael Kleber-Diggs, and Gérard Physdipillo Jr., and our incredible team of translators. And of course, this issue would not be possible without our volunteers from the design team: M., I., Elena Urman, Inar Iskendirova, Anna Orlova, Liliya Safronova, Maria Zweig, and Marta Vosmova.
A special thank you to Veta Sbitnikova and her team who provide the website design and technical support.
The eighth issue of ROAR is planned for June 24. We have already started putting it together, and we will be happy to consider poetry, prose, art and sound pieces related to our main theme, in any shape or form. Please send them to [email protected].
I would like to add just a few words I end each editor’s letter with: we are already looking forward to the moment when we can close ROAR for good, when it will no longer be needed to mark this specific segment of culture as opposing the criminal Russian regime, simply because this regime will cease to exist. But until then, we will do everything in our power for ROAR to continue.
Sincerely, Linor Goralik, ROAR Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
April 24, 2023