Preface by the Editor-in-Chief

Abstract

We hope that readers of Volupté are keeping well in these challenging times. Most, if not all, of us have experienced some kind of confinement over the last three months due to COVID-19, and some of us, of course, will have been directly affected by the virus. Our thoughts are with you.

The shocking rampancy of fever and disease – both the physical and political varieties – has meant that scholarly activities like attending conferences and visiting libraries and archives are now out-of-bounds. The kinds of in-person socializing that we were able enjoy a few months ago have been reduced to Talking-Heads communications via glitchy web platforms and social media. We Whereby and we Zoom, but it is not surprising perhaps that technology falls short of human need. We feel sensory-deprived; we pine for the rust smell of foxed endpapers, for the must of an ancient tome.