Winter 2006-2007
Edited by Kevin Standifer

The conflicts in our lives often have a way of taking on a life of their own. Under the surface of domestic bliss, a fissure erupts when the death of a beloved pet plays a larger role than anyone would suspect. Elsewhere, under the surface of the Pacific, a young man seeks a violence that will mirror the turmoil growing inside him. Loved ones both long departed and unrequited return in haunting forms and memories, and a paragon of me-first culture has an encounter with the ideals of a bygone decade. In this issue of SWELL, we celebrate the start of a new year with work in which characters find themselves grappling with these manifestations of their conflicts and trying to bring them, of course, to resolution.