A Fond Farewell

With this issue, my tenure as editor comes to an end. When I was offered this position some ten years ago, I accepted with some ambivalence. While I was honored at being asked and looked forward to assuming the editorship, I was also quite uncertain that I would be up to the task. I was most fortunate in having Morton Cantor, the previous editor, serve as a guide for the initial months and as a trusted mentor in the ensuing years. Mort was available consistently to help out with whatever problem presented itself and his recommendations were always on target. Mort succumbed to cardiac illness over a year ago and I have sorely felt his absence.

Now that it is time to step down, I again have mixed feelings. Editing the Journal has been a continuing source of information for me as I was able to keep up with the changing currents in our field by reading fresh manuscripts that represented the cutting edge of theory and practice. I have also derived great pleasure from the frequent requests that we have received to reprint articles from the Journal, sometimes going back many years, in new anthologies, course syllabi, or textbooks, that demonstrate that our Journal continues to be valued and appreciated by subsequent generations of students and professionals.

At the same time, I selfishly welcome the time that I had devoted previously to editorial chores and I will not miss the unpleasant task of disappointing authors by turning down their manuscripts. However, what makes it easiest to retire is the knowledge that the Journal will be in the most skillful hands. The choice of Douglas Ingram as the next editor insures that the Journal will continue to be a strong voice of what is best in psychoanalysis and dynamic psychiatry. Doug has proved his competence by serving as editor of the American Journal of Psychoanalysis, which is known to most, if not all, our readers as an outstanding periodical. Also, Doug has been gracious enough to ask me to stay on and contribute an occasion