English Version | Editor's Letter: Words Issue, June 2026

Some say that words have lost their value. That today everything is written quickly, promised quickly… and forgotten even faster. Perhaps that's true. But perhaps the problem isn't with words, but with how we use them. Words remain one of the greatest forces invented by humankind. With them, wars begin and peace is made. Countries are built, reputations are destroyed, lives are saved, loves are ended. A right word, spoken at the right moment, can change an entire existence. And a wrong one can haunt it forever.

Amanda Murphy
Mario Kroes

For centuries, a word carried almost moral weight. “I give you my word” was more than a phrase: it was a bond. A word of honor was worth an invisible signature. There were no recordings, screenshots, or endless contracts. There was character. Someone's credibility was measured by the firmness of what they said. Today, in the constant noise of the digital world, words have multiplied and devalued at the same time. Never has so much been written. Never has so much been spoken. And perhaps never has so little been listened to. Words live compressed in notifications, acronyms, quick comments, slogans, hurried captions. They are used up before they mature.

Sónia Balacó
Élio Nogueira

But the paradox is this: the more common a word seems, the greater its power remains. Because no technology can replace the value of a sincere, heartfelt word… We still need to hear comfort, truth, forgiveness, love, or farewell. We continue to seek meaning in books, speeches, poems, and songs. Literature is the art of words, in the precision of prose or the risk of poetry. A writer works with words like a sculptor works with stone: removing excess, seeking form, trying to find truth. There are novels that have survived centuries because certain phrases continue to tell us more about human beings than many modern treatises.

Melinda Kiss
David Ajkai

Perhaps that's the difference. Before, words were rare and therefore valuable. Today they are abundant and therefore light. But a true word still has depth. It continues to demand courage. It continues to leave a mark.

Ultimately, the value of words has never disappeared. What has disappeared is our patience to honor them. When everything is said all the time, the real weight falls on those who still know how to choose their words, and, above all, how to keep them. That's where poetry lives… the magic of words.

Translated from the original in the Words issue of Vogue Portugal, published June 2026. For full stories and credits, see the print issue.