Modern Literature Commons^™

Nebo: Volume 2, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo, Arkansas Tech University’s literary journal, continues its tradition of showcasing innovative and thought-provoking creative writing in its Spring 1984 issue. This volume brings together poetry, fiction, and essays from a diverse range of voices, reflecting the evolving landscape of contemporary literature. Featuring work from both emerging and established writers, this issue delves into themes of memory, transformation, and the human condition. Readers will discover a collection rich with narrative depth, poetic experimentation, and critical literary discourse. As Nebo enters its second volume, it reaffirms its role as a space for artistic expression and literary excellence.

Nebo: Volume 1, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

The Fall 1983 edition of Nebo (Volume 1, Issue 2) continues the journal’s commitment to showcasing compelling poetry and fiction that push the boundaries of literary expression. This issue brings together a diverse collection of works, exploring themes of human experience, memory, relationships, and artistic interpretation. With contributors ranging from emerging to established voices, the selections in this issue offer a wide spectrum of poetic lyricism and narrative depth. Featuring works from Lawrence Millman, Warren Hope, Turner Cassity, and many others, this volume engages with the complexities of storytelling and the power of the written word.

As Nebo maintains its …

Nebo: Volume 1, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo Literary Journal is a dynamic collection of contemporary fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction that highlights emerging voices in literature. Curated by Arkansas Tech University, this issue features a diverse range of storytelling, lyrical expression, and thought-provoking essays that explore themes of identity, human connection, and the power of narrative. With contributions from talented writers across genres, Nebo serves as a creative space for literary exploration and artistic expression. Whether through evocative poetry or compelling short stories, this issue invites readers to immerse themselves in the richness of modern literature.

Wizard, Demon, Cat; Reformer, Satanist, Bureaucrat: A Diachronic Analysis Of Three Modes Of Sauron In The Legendarium In Light Of The Book Of Lost Tales, Cameron Bourquein

Journal of Tolkien Research

This paper argues that Sauron is a metatextual shape-shifter. Through diachronic analysis it identifies and charts three distinct “modes” of Sauron coexisting in Tolkien’s legendarium. While Sauron’s most robust First Age appearance (in the tale of Beren and Lúthien) remained relatively unchanged from his introduction in the 1920s until Tolkien’s death, Sauron’s role in the Legendarium expanded significantly across Tolkien’s lifetime as Sauron became the primary antagonist of two additional Ages of Middle-earth. Some of the evolutions that accompanied this expansion are not retroactively reflected in the tales already written, hence these “modes” of Sauron could be said to remain …

Exploring The Field Of Cultural Production: The Development Of Pentigraf In Indonesia, Melania Shinta Harendika, Aprinus Salam, Sudibyo Sudibyo

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This research examines the development of Pentigraf, an Indonesian minifiction form with a three-paragraph structure initiated by Tengsoe Tjahjono to suit modern, fast-paced culture. The emergence of Pentigraf and its community, i.e., KPI (Kampung Pentigraf Indonesian or the Indonesian Pentigraf Village), influenced the dynamics of the Indonesian field of cultural production. Using Bourdieu’s theory, it analyses Pentigraf’s position in cultural production from 2016-2023 based on literature reviews, media content analysis, competition records, and participatory observations in KPI. By studying the legitimacy and consecration of Pentigraf in the cultural production field, the research provides insights into how this literary format …

He Is The Master Of Wood, Water, And Hill: Is Tom Bombadil The True Key Keeper Of The Old Forest?, Noelia Ramos

Journal of Tolkien Research

Tom Bombadil, with his iconic singing―”Hey! Come merry doll! Derry doll and merry-o!―has captivated scholars worldwide, due to the enigmatic nature Tolkien intentionally left unexplained. This deliberate mystery has fuelled extensive debate, leading many to explore possible mythological and cultural frameworks that might decode Bombadil’s origins. Among these hypotheses, a Celtic interpretation has often been dismissed despite its potential relevance. This paper, thereby, seeks to analyse Bombadil’s function within the Old Forest and his interactions with the hobbits during their forest episode, presenting fresh insights into his role as a Celtic-inspired guide and druidic figure.

To support this analysis, primary …

Reading, Rending, And Queering The Web Of Story With The Lenses Of “Con-Creation” And Process Theology, Cameron Bourquein, Nick Polk

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

“Sub-creation” within Tolkien’s narrative and extra-narrative works is routinely exhibited not as monolithic but rather as (literally and figuratively) polyphonic. In this joint paper Bourquein proposes that the Legendarium can be read through the lens of “con-creation” (total, continuous, collective, creative activity) both internally (as events in the Secondary World) and externally (as both a text and a pseudohistory in the Primary World). This approach levels the playing field between all actors in—and readers of—“The Drama,” providing a queer approach to interpretive-creative activity when compared to “orthodox” doctrines of creation. Polk further argues that con-creation resonates with process theologies of …

Two Poems By Victoria Guerrero Peiranotwo Poems By Victoria Guerrero Peirano Translated By Ilka Kressner, Ilka Kressner

Living in Languages

Translation of the two poems "En la disco" and "Baile" by Victoria Guerrero Peirano into English and German.

Materiality Of Traumatic Experience And The Limits Of Representation In Hassan Bani Ameri’S Gonjeshkha Behesht Ra Mifahmand (Sparrows Understand Heaven), Maryam Ghodrati

Emerson Authors, Researchers, & Creators

This paper examines the materialization of trauma as both a narrative and embodied phenomenon in Hassan Bani Ameri’s 2006 novel, Gonjeshkha Behesht ra Mifahmand, using contemporary narrative and trauma theory. The postmodernist narrative, told from the perspective of a photojournalist, reconstructs events surrounding the death of a celebrated Iran-Iraq War commander. I argue that traumatic truths resist full integration into conventional frameworks of understanding, evident in the novel’s non-linear, fragmented narrative and its shift from visual realism to confessional surrealism in an ending that challenges traditional storytelling and historical documentation. By vividly simulating the sensory processing of traumatic memories, the …

The Nameless Enemy: How Do You Solve A Problem Like “Mairon”?, Cameron Bourquein

Journal of Tolkien Research

This paper analyzes Sauron’s “original” name, “Mairon,” in its various contexts (textual, temporal, and linguistic) and then applies it to a reading of the character in order to produce a “capsule characterization” or “minimyth” for the Lord of the Rings himself. The name “Mairon” appears only in a note to a single entry in a list of Eldarin roots, not published until 2007 in the journal Parma Eldalamberon. This niche location suggests one of the many ways in which this name is marginal: typographically, linguistically, narratively, and historically (as in the Secondary World). The name appears to have been …

Chaucer’S Complaint To His Purse And Authority In The World, Paul A. Olson

Department of English: Faculty Publications

Chaucer’s Complaint to His Purse concerns more than the poet’s financial need under the new Lancastrian administration. It speaks to the limits of Henry IV’s royal authority and, through irony, to the limitations of Chaucer’s purse’s power. Underlining royal limits, Chaucer petitions the king as one who holds office through election and line but not con-quest, which is Henry’s position on his office as well. In speaking iron-ically of the purse’s authority, the poet addresses the gold that the mon-arch might grant him as if it constituted a human or divine patron, but he does so in a hierarchy of …

Pathos, Winter 2025, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Pathos

Editor: Adriana Stanzione

Poetry Is Change: Close Reading In The Context Of Trauma Research, Maeve Cecilia Tobin Flusser

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Openings, 2025, Trinity Christian College

Openings

Literary Arts: Where I'm From by Kaylee Santiago - 2 / Desk by Luke Rotman - 3 / A Final Word by Njoki Mukuria - 8 / there's no going back by Sam Nonhof - 9 / Oranges by ren amador - 11 / DESTINY vs. AGENCY by Chase Hadley - 13 / Freely Give, Freely Receive by Mia Musick - 17 / Like a Child by Kaylee M. Santiago - 20 / The Poetry of the Body by John Terpstra - 21 / Carl's Secret by Kaylee M. Santiago - 23 / My Father's Hair by John Terpstra - …

Eros And The Sublime: Tools For Reaching Toward An Altered Ecological Consciousness, Aineka Carlson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis explores connections between the Kantian sublime and Anne Carson’s ideas regarding “eros.” Since Kant’s Critique of Judgement was published in 1790, the Kantian sublime has grown in popularity and been utilized by theorists and creative writers alike. While the Kantian sublime is often associated with nature in popular culture, there are certain egocentric and phallocentric elements of this mode of thinking that might inhibit a biocentric mindset. Through a character study of Oryx from Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake, this thesis draws relations between the subjugation of women, nature, and the ways in which the popularized …

"A Changed Understanding Of Our Present": Moby-Dick As Prophetic Ecological Activism, Katie Ann Schini

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Moby-Dick: Or, The Whale is a classic of American literature, spanning multiple genres and remaining culturally relevant nearly 175 years after its original publication. Though on the surface Moby-Dick reads as an adventure story of a man who experiences the whaling industry firsthand, Herman Melville’s text continues to invite new generations of readership through the framework of the twenty-first century climate crisis.

In this thesis, I position Moby-Dick as a text that can be used to understand our modern society’s current dispositions of ecological grief. My thesis operates at the intersection of three main literary critical theories: ecocriticism, affect, and …

La Voz 2025, Loyola Marymount University, Modern Languages & Literatures Department

La Voz Student Journal

LA VOZ is published by the Modern Languages & Literatures Department, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.

Milk Tooth, 2025, Eddie Anderson, Sadie House, Jay Clark, Ravyn Oliver, Edwin Mayo, Joseph Kettelhodt, Kaitlyn Seibel, Daniel Mcnellis, Elise Fladeboe, Ivy Matejcek, Trinity Johnson, Eve Gwendolyn Hansen, Liz Fisher, Emma Niessink, Hannah Lewis

Milk Tooth

"Writings by Bemidji State University Students". Sponsored by the Bemidji State University English Department.

“We Understand Each Other, Then”: Binaries At Play In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Christopher P. Jolivette

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

As the United States grappled with the fallout of the September 11th terrorist attacks, another, subtler conundrum was arising. As Mohsin Hamid writes in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a chasm of difference arose between the First World and the Third. In Derridian terms, the United States grew to center itself, forming its own complete national identity that defied the Third World's cultural realm. In his writing, Hamid viciously attacks this deepening realm of cultural difference by taking aim at the violent domineering and heteronormative American culture whose imposition in the Middle East served to severe any ties between the two cultures. …

Los Estudios Latinoamericanos Ante El Renacimiento Psicodélico, Alberto Ribas-Casasayas

Modern Languages & Literature

The chapter analyzes erasures and appropriations that the discourse of the psychedelic renaissance arising in the Global North imposes on long-standing practices in indigenous societies and countercultural environments. It also suggests ways in which a critical Humanities can, from a Latin American perspective, offer more inclusive understandings of the psychedelic experience.