From the Publisher

By Elizabeth Valk Long

FATHERS SHOULD BE NEITHER SEEN NOR HEARD," wrote Oscar Wilde. "This is the only proper basis for family life." It's hard to say what Wilde would have thought of this week's cover photo or the pictures inside of dads and their children. Several clearly defy the outdated idea of fathers as detached from the parenting process. And that's just what the photographers intended.

Gregory Heisler, who did the cover photograph, says he wanted the image to show genuine affection. So, rather than use professional models, he went out and found some "real dads and their real kids." Adds Heisler: "Instead of doing some slick, over-produced shot, I wanted something more authentic to the experience of being a father." This isn't the first time that Heisler, 39, has conveyed complex ideas for the cover of TIME. His photographs have graced the front of the magazine some 20 times, ranging from Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee and director David Lynch to former President George Bush and Ted Turner for the Man of the Year issues in 1991 and 1992, respectively. But this week's TIME cover has special meaning, he says, because he and his wife Prudence had their first child, Lucy, 16 months ago.

The pictures appearing inside were all done by photographer Jeffrey Lowe. Although Lowe has not experienced fatherhood yet, he observed many intimate moments of parenting by spending a lot of private time with each dad and child. Of all the pictures, Lowe was most deeply touched by the father-to-be embracing his pregnant wife.

While most of the credit for the pictures rightly goes to those behind the camera, cover coordinator Linda Freeman and assistant picture editor Mary Worrell Bousquette, who work behind the scenes, also deserve accolades. Freeman, for instance, had the challenging task of making arrangements for the group portrait of child movie stars by Heisler that appears on page 62. Says she: "My greatest reward is working with these talented artists." Bousquette edited the pictures that appear inside. "I wanted our story to show the many faces of fatherhood," she says. At least in this issue, those fathers are seen as well as heard. Sorry, Oscar.