The American Reader, a new monthly journal of literature and criticism, debuts today. Editor-in-Chief Uzoamaka Maduka has written a fabulous editor’s foreword. Here’s an excerpt:

“We’re led to believe that each of us, alone with our thoughts, are just that: alone—rather than one of many silenced readers and thinkers across this city and this country who have not been given a serious, dignified, and regular space where they might come together and speak directly, honestly, and fearlessly to one another.

The American Reader’s immodest aim is to chronicle this conversation, in all its forms, on the printed page, and to host a daily online forum devoted to furthering it. This is a simple task, but far from an easy one—and it is a task made possible only by your engagement and your enthusiasm.”

Add the site to your blogrolls, friends. It looks like it’s gonna be worth it.