Desire

Longing. Obsession. Yearning. That restless ache that seems to vibrate our every cell. What does it mean to want—to really, really want? What is the price we pay? What will we sacrifice and what do we gain? In issue 26, we explore desire: the whisper, the conflict, and the abandon.

This is an issue of juxtapositions: the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark, the ease with the unrest. It demonstrates something about the nature of being human—that nothing is ever as simple as it seems. And what is more human than to want, and then to make it as complicated as possible?

Stories in this issue include a harmless crush that turns a little less harmless; a sundae tradition that starts to taste less sweet; the checkboxes on an immigration form, none of them quite right; all the little pieces that make someone beautiful; caregiving as sensual acts; touch; yearning; an interview with author Julian Winters on the everlasting power of the romance novel.