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Rounding out with a sixth offering the group of
records-plus- texts that comprise our "Discover America" series, we present in
this issue "Atlanta: City for the Future." The series began with "A Trip to
Washington" in our January 1988 issue. We received so many requests for more features
of this sort that we followed up with "Going to California" (January 1990),
"The Mississippi River/New Orleans" (January 1991), "The American
Cowboy" (January 1992), "A Weekend in Boston" (January 1993), and now, in
this issue, "Atlanta: City for the Future."
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Why Atlanta? Because of
its prominence as the hub, or central city, of the South, and
because of its place in history and its promise for the future.
Today, its Hartsfield International Airport is the transit point
for passengers flying to many parts of the United States. Also,
because of the favorable business climate the city offers, a number
of large corporations have their headquarters there. Its Martin
Luther King, Jr. Memorial stands as an important reminder of the
city s place in the civil-rights movement. In the past, both before
and during the period of the Civil War (1860 65), Atlanta played
an important part in the history of this country. Who that has
seen the motion-picture version of Margaret Mitchell's best-selling
novel Gone with the Wind can forget the portrait it presents
of the culture and customs of the Old South or the vivid scenes
of the burning of Atlanta by Union troops? As for the future,
in 1996 the summer Olympic Games will be held in Atlanta.
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In keeping with our regard for
authenticity, two members of the Forum staff traveled to
Atlanta to gain firsthand experience as tourists there. They returned
with the information, atmosphere, and illustrations reflected
in this issue s center insert, poster, and cover.
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We are, incidentally, pleased to announce that
the six "Discover America" journeys that originally appeared in the Forum
with accompanying recorded disks will soon be available, all together in a convenient book
with cassette, at reasonable cost through most of the centers that distribute the Forum
in each country.
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The phrase "full circle" applies also
to the tenure of the present Editor, which began in February 1975 and ends with this
issue, as she moves into what she hopes will be an active, productive retirement. The last
19 years have been a period rich in the progress of English teaching, a progress that has
been mirrored in the pages of this journal. In fact, those pages provide an interesting
record of the growth of the profession during that time. The Editor s work has been made
particularly pleasant by her association with a small, devoted, creative staff, and by the
hundreds of readers she has come to know, either in person or through correspondence.
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The departure of this Editor is greatly eased by
the knowledge that the journal will be in good hands, in terms not only of the staff but
of the worldwide contributors whose articles constitute the heart of the magazine. The
changing of the guard is timely, and such innovations and modifications as may be
introduced will surely be appropriate and progressive, as the Forum continues in
the same spirit and purpose of serving the profession that has guided its first 31 years.
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