By Victor D. Infante

I’m a stubborn person, and not one who quits anything easily, but there’s a fundamental difference between “quitting” and recognizing an ending. It’s a recognition I’ve encountered many times before, particularly in mid-2010, when I decided to cease publishing the online literary journal, The November 3rd Club. The world had changed since I had started that endeavor, and I had said all I’d set out to say with that journal. No, for fear of sounding terribly Kenny Rogers, sometimes you need to know when to walk away.

Mere months later, my wife and I sat in the restaurant at the MASS MoCa museum, and we discussed a new journal, one that would center not so much on politics, but on how language, politics and art connect to the real world. That idea became Radius, and in the time since, I’ve been blessed to work with a truly astounding array of writers, both as contributors and staffers, and we have turned out some astonishingly good work. There is a part of me that could go on doing this for years, if I were able.

But the world has changed since we started this journal, and I think I’ve said what I need to say. Right now, my attention is being consumed by my responsibilities to The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, where I work as entertainment editor, and Worcester Magazine, where I serve as content editor. These are trying times for local and regional news, and I’ve found that giving both periodicals the attention they deserve leaves very little for any other massive, ongoing project. Right now, it’s time to focus on that part of my life.

I’ll be stepping down as editor of Radius by the end of the year.

As of this writing, I do not know what the future will hold for this journal, although it’s my hope that it will continue without me. I’ve approached someone, and hope they or someone else will take on the mantle and guide this unique literary experiment into new and exciting places, but no final decisions have been made.

In the meantime, we will not be publishing new content until we’ve sorted out the journal’s future. Work that is online now will remain so for the foreseeable future, and if we decide to close, we’ll make some effort to archive this, as we did Nov3rd. We understand if prospective contributors want to withdraw their submissions, but we’ll be making no decisions on that front, either, until we know whether or not we’ll be continuing, and with whom at the helm.

For my part, I feel Radius has been one of my greatest achievements as an editor and writer, and I could not be more proud of the work I’ve done here. Again, it’s my hope that it continues without me, but of it doesn’t, then at least we can say that what we did do, we did magnificently.

We’ll let you know more when we know it. Until then: Thank you for coming with me on this incredible literary ride. Thank you, thank you, thank you.