We are but memories. Imagine if everything we know is erased: the experiences that we share, the stories that we have grown up listening to, the sight of our loved ones, the bonds that we share with friends and foes, and the institutions that try to shape our reality. Where would we stand without all these?
Have we ever wondered how we transmit our memories to others? Or how we inherit the memories of our parents and ancestors? Perhaps we have, albeit unconsciously, always transmitted memories through the medium of language, written, visual and spoken. And language, much like memory, transcends itself. We have at our disposal the language of gestures, spoken and written words, and in these modern times, we also rely on photographs and videos. All these compose the aggregate means of communication that we use to connect with one another and with ourselves and our past.
However, do we really believe that we have been able to retrieve everything we have gone through or have observed with our senses? Perhaps not. Sometimes, language falls short and sometimes our senses betray us. Memory and recollection tend to be subjective in many ways because they are solely grounded in our personal and individual experiences. If, for example, other people see or observe the same event we have witnessed, they may possess a completely different recollection of it. Or, if we can be more candid, different versions of memories get formed in different people.
In this issue, you will read stories, poems, articles, essays and reviews that have a binding thread: to visit the past through the medium of memory, in retrospect, such that memory becomes a language of its own. The pieces found herein portray different experiences, using different signs and analogies to make us imagine, or at least take us closer to igniting the past or to bring someone or something back from the oblivion of forgetfulness. In every reader, different questions and different answers will emanate from the diverse pieces of writing found in this issue. The writing found here evokes memory and imagination, the combination of which, brings to life a plethora of images, sensations, emotions, people, characters, experiences and places. After all, commemoration and remembrance are intrinsic to our culture and to our daily lives.
