Message from the Editors: Minor Genres?

Out of sight, out of mind? It has been a long while since any article in this journal focused sustained attention on one or another variety of those short, fixed-form conversational zingers that color daily communication: pithy turns of phrase, encapsulations of wisdom, or bold assertions that students of folklore regrettably refer to as "minor" genres. Proverbs, sayings, similes—what would oratory be without them? And when tempers flare, what better response can there be than a stirring insult, biting comeback, or obscene gesture?

The present issue of JAF presents a selection of the fine scholarship our field continues to produce on these everyday elements of artful communication. Paremiologist Wolfgang Mieder reveals for us the centrality of proverbial expressions in American political rhetoric and the weighty idealistic tasks we seek to accomplish by traditionalized speech. Heather A. Haas takes us in to the imaginative worlds of both J. R. R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling to explore the ways in which fantasy writers deploy proverbs, real as well as fictive, to delineate their worlds and characters. Katharine Young challenges us to contemplate the "intercorporeity" of gestures, examining the complex relations of bodies and intention in the act of communication. Evangelos Gr. Avdikos takes us on a spirited exploration of the workings of curses in rural Greece, teasing out the logic and agendas behind traditionalized malediction. And finally, in our issue's creative writing piece, Jack Thiessen reflects on the nuances and emotive power of single words or expressions in the Mennonite Low German of his childhood. Read on and you will see that tradition continues to color the exhortations, wisdom, humor, and invective that we seek to share with our interlocutors on a daily basis.

We were excited to bring these five pieces out together, because we think they complement each other in fascinating ways, and we challenge you to read the issue from cover to cover. Yet in including them all in a single issue, we have been obliged to forego publication of any reviews. Out of sight, out of mind? We hope not! Reviews are a key element of JAF—a means by which we inform each other of the latest contributions to the field and a tool by which we strive collectively to produce works of ever greater insight, relevance, and accuracy. So look for a healthy contingent of reviews in our next issue, and for now, enjoy these authors' perceptive reminders of the ubiquitous and crucial nature of tradition in daily life.