This issue begins with one of the first in depth looks at the Soviet Writers' Colony, Peredelkino, its formation by Joseph Stalin, its residents, its effect on modern literature, and the loss which resulted from the execution of almost a quarter of its population. With the twentieth anniversary of the release of the movie "Forrest Gump" we sit down and talk to Gump's author Winston Groom about his writing and his career. We have an excerpt from Deborah Johnson's wonderful new novel, "The Secret of Magic." Then the fiction, essays, poetry, and art that is the body of our purpose.