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A Note From the Editor Norman Holland wrote a few months ago and commented that Reader is the journal he learns the most from. We consider this to be the highest compliment. We'd like to think that Reader's articles are timely and fresh. Apparently other readers think so too because our subscriptions are up, as are our submissions. One advantage we have is that our production time is faster than most journals. Articles or issues rarely sit around collecting dust after they have been accepted. This issue, for instance, was a mere idea last winter. Gesa Kirsch proposed it at the March '88 Conference on College Composition and Communication, had her contributors prepare their essays over the summer, and sent me the completed essays this past winter. The essays needed very little editing, so we were able to produce the issue in record time. The result is an issue that explores the latest thinking on the relationship between audience and authority. I'm especially pleased with this issue because it should appeal to readers interested in both literary studies and composition studies. Grant-Davie's piece on rereading while composing and Kirsch's piece on writers' responses to different audiences are clearly rooted in composition research and theory. They review literature or employ research methods that extend our knowledge of reading/writing relationships. Mortensen and Sullivan's pieces also arise out of composition studies, but they demonstrate that the field of literary studies needs composition studies if it is to become critical of its pedagogical practices. I am especially excited about Sullivan's piece as I have gone to Ohio State and have taken courses similar to the ones she describes. I agree completely that we need to begin conceiving of literature courses as reading courses and restructuring them, taking into consideration what we are learning about reading and writing from composition studies and reader-response criticism. This may take a minor revolution. Or it may be an inevitable evolution, given that scholars in both composition and literature usually inhabit the same department and must engage in dialogue from time to time. Enough digression–back to my discussion of our efficient production schedule. I've been fortunate, this year, to have the assistance of very competent students of technical communication who have taken the job of assistant editor very seriously and who have performed admirably. I don't think I've worked with a group as reliable and knowledgeable as they are. We are finally on schedule (well, we're close) because they have pushed hard and worked efficiently. Thanks for a job very well done. Elizabeth Flynn |