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Page 2 Minor literature has entered the publishing and intellectual mainstream. It should no longer be regarded as exotic or esoteric. More publishers than ever are committed to expanding their minor literature catalogues. The list of works available in translation for the first time or in new translation is expanding daily. In addition, fine efforts such as the Reading the World Program facilitate a growing appreciation of minor literature. Now in its third year, the Reading the World Program is an exemplary collaborative venture between publishers and booksellers. Initiated by Karl Pohrt ofShaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Paul Yamazaki ofCity Lights in San Francisco, and Jeff Seroy of FSG in New York City, the program has grown to include over ten presses and more than two hundred and fifty bookstores. Its aim is to bring translated literature from around the world to a wider audience. This year forty books have been selected for display in participating bookstores. The novels, poetry, and nonfiction from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East featured in the displays affords patrons the opportunity to browse and purchase a range of international literature. The surge in publication and publicity of translated literature from the world over is a clear indication of the coming of age of minor literature. Its emergence from obscurity can be linked to the "flattening" of the world via new technologies. It can also be viewed as a consequence of both the emergence of globalized knowledges and the new cosmopolitanism. The growing attraction of cultural studies (and its variations) in academia has also broadened interest in minor literature. Whereas the study of minor literatures was once dominated by foreign language departments (where an absence of study of the language implied an absence of study of the literature), today comparative literature and English departments have greatly increased the desire to explore minor literatures. And the recent surge in quality translations only makes the fulfillment of this desire more achievable by removing the language barrier. While "minor" literature in the popular sense might be defined in opposition to "major" literature, such a move would be a mistake. In its most significant sense, minor literature is neither "neglected" literature, nor literature from "a small place," nor even literature from a small genre (for example, concrete poetry). Rather, it should take its meaning—especially for engaged writers and theorists—from the conceptually rich sense of the phrase developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. In ??ßa: Toward a Minor Literature (1986), Deleuze and Guattari argue that minor literature foregrounds the writing process, not the product of writing. For them, everything in minor literature takes on a collective value and is political. Moreover, the language of this way of writing is effected by a high degree of "deterritorialization." While one might be tempted to regard the Focus of this issue—Romanian Poetry in Translation , masterfully edited by ABR Contributing Editor, Andrei Codrescu—to be dealing with "minor" literature in the popular sense of the term, this temptation should be avoided. Even if it is the case that Romanian poetry is the product of a relatively small nation and has not received the level of attention in the literary world as, say, the literature of larger nations such as France, England, and the US, this is insignificant information at best. However, when regarded through the lens of Deleuze and Guattari's notion of"minor" literature, Romanian poetry and its translation becomes prime material for poststructuralist contemplation. As the contributions in this issue's Focus indicate, the writing ofRomanian poetry has been a deeply political and communal act. Also, its language is effected by a high degree ofdeteritorialization. Consequently, one might reasonably maintain that Romanian poetry is minor literature, par excellance. To be sure, ABR has taken a "worldly" turn of late. It began with our recent Focuses on "Japanese Literature and Culture" (28.1 ) and "Cosmopolitanism" (28.3). Considering the Focus ofthis issue and that the next one will be an even more "wordly" topic—"Perpetual War" (28.6)—one might speculate that a pattern is forming. Even though at this point I would be loath to confirm pattern-formation, expect to see more attention...