To the Reader:

This 2012 issue marks the final edition of Guideword in its current incarnation. Through the years, the journal has undergone many transitions; it has been published both semi-annually and annually, released in various forms online, and grown in both concept and scope. An ever-changing roster of editors has helped the journal maintain a varied aesthetic and introduce writers working in both traditional and more experimental styles to the Goddard community.

Since its inception, issues of Guideword centered around a single word as a theme for the pieces accepted. This year, we chose to open submissions to all topics and allow a theme to emerge on its own or not at all, which allowed us an embarrassment of riches in submissions from which to choose. In the end, we decided a distinct theme did not emerge. We also opened submissions to students and faculty across all of Goddard College's undergraduate and graduate programs. (The journal formerly only accepted submissions from undergraduate students.) The result is a stunning compilation of work from artists at all stages of their careers.

We hope you enjoy this last issue of Guideword as we have known it. Also, please join us in congratulating Elizabeth Reynolds, whose artwork, which first appeared in the Spring 2011 edition of Guideword, was selected by the editors of Bennington College's plain china to appear in an anthology of the best work of 2011 published in undergraduate journals.

Enjoy!

-Kate