Dear discerning readers of Istanbul Literature Review;

Once again,we met on another great issue of ILR.

But while we were apart,during three months,the world has seen two major disasters in New Orleans and Pakistan. Before going any further,I want to commemorate all the victims and share the grief of all the American and Pakistani people on these pages which are,in my book, of a great importance to share the common pain of humanity.

At the very beginning,I want to emphasize and draw your attention to the great interest our debut issue recieved,which makes me more and more eager to work for making our network better.

First of all,let's see what's new on the publication. With the vision "to deliver literature everywhere" using cutting edge technologies,we made two services available. First one, ILR Extra is a service designed to give the subscribers extra readings and let them know about the latest changes in the ILR world. The second and the more remarkable one is the ILR Mobile. This significant service can be reached via GPRS. Many interesting stories,poems and additional pieces will be available on this mobile edition. Our "ILR Mobile" page gives you the detailed information about the service and how you can use it.

Now, we can take a look at the Winter Edition.

Short Story page hosts three talented authors. In The Dandy Lion,Mike Broemmel tells us the story of Herbert Bubo and his growing interest in the dandelions. Jim Kohl writes One Step Away in which he tells an experience-"one step away from reailty". And finally,a newcomer, Jason Rice tells the story of a CIA agent in The Expatriate Takes A Picture, which is one of my favourites in this issue.

When it comes to the Poetry section,we got four splendidly written poems. First one, "Queen Erotica" comes from Patrick Julian Cassidy,one of the loyal members of our staff. The second one is "Nirvana" by Pushpa Tuladhar. And old Storyteller Jose Aparicio shares his poem "Ecdysiast" with us while a contributor from Italy, Davide Trame, sends "Autumn Coming".

Scott Muschett tells his nostalgic experience in his "Christmas Eve In A Free-Trade Zone" on the first corner of the "Articles" page.This article makes me remember the memories of Stefan Zweig in which he told his childhood memories which all faded away with the destruction the world war brought.In "Scott Peterson and The Case Agains Death Penalty"  Mike Broemmel discusses a rather popular issue in the United States. Our voice of Asia, Kamil Mamaraimov, gives us his perception of the events took place in Kyrgyzstan,the heart of the Central Asia. Myrna Lou Goldbaum answers the "Palmistry Questions Most Commonly Asked" and finally on the Diary Of A Mad Man you will find an old rock'n'roll friend,Mark Knopfler.

We got a delicious three-course meal on Halime Getir's menu on the Turkish Delight section. Also,Halime shows us her photography talent,and invites you to take an Istanbul tour with her photos on the TD page.

And that's all there's to it. I hope you'll like all the contents of the Winter Edition. And not to mention,I do look forward to see you enjoy ILR Extra and ILR Mobile.

As usual,please feel free to share your comments and ideas with me,so that we can see how the things turn out on your view.

Untill the spring edition,take a good care of yourselves and enjoy high-quality literature on these pages.Keep on rocking!

Cordially,

Etkin Getir
Founding Owner