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During the summer came the sad news that Nina Coltart died on June 24. Nina Coltart was an Editorial Reader for International Forum of Psychoanalysis from 1994. It was a joy when an evaluation arrrived from Nina Coltart. Her comments were always written by hand in black ink and in a powerful, intensive and very characteristic style. Already the encounter with her style made you feel that you met another human being. Her way of formulating her impressions, thoughts and evaluations had the same vigour and energy. She was straightforward, clear and with a sense of humour which was not used to distort reality but rather to open your mind. At the meetings of the Editorial Board her recommendations often released laughter and a sense of freedom. In this way she strengthened the morale of the board.
The only text by Nina Coltart which was published in this journal appeared in vol. 4, no 1, where she commented on ‘The Silent Cry’ by Mona Serenius. Nina Coltart's resonance and response to the ‘silent cry’ characteristically was extended and deepened during the years.
Nina Coltart's way of presenting her views as an Editorial Reader demonstrates the possibility of a critical dialogue between authors and readers of psychoanalytic articles. At meetings in the Editorial Board, we have discussed the lack of written responses from our readers to the authors. At times we have invited a comment, especially when extensive case material has been presented, but spontaneous letters from the readers have been almost non-existing. I am sure that more often than not you who are reading IFP, have questions, objections, corroborating evidence or other comments, which would help to clarify or extend the understanding of issues under discussion. We therefore wish to remind you of the possibility to engage yourself in a discussion in this way.
This leads me over to a phenomenon which in some way may be related to the absence of critical discussion (in the sense of careful judicious evaluation) of