Comparative Literature Commons^™

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew, Editor-In-Chief

Comparative Civilizations Review

It has always seemed somewhat ironic that the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations has never agreed on the exact definition of the single word arguably most central to its mission: “civilization”.

The Deep Seer And The Four Tests, Ross R. Maxwell

Comparative Civilizations Review

At last, he knew his true name. When he was young, he wandered, unsure of himself. He knew he was a generalist — not satisfied with mastering only one thing. He wanted to explore. He wanted to fill in blanks in his mental map of the world. He was good at science, and he understood concepts quickly, but he rarely stuck around long enough to gain real expertise in a field. His curiosity was ravenous, always seeking new realms to explore.

The World System, Regional Systems, And The Limitations Of Historical Urban Population Datasets, Karl E. Ryavec

Comparative Civilizations Review

This study presents a method for mapping and comparing the regional extents of historical city-based economies at the global scale by integrating the World-Systems Theory of Immanuel Wallerstein with the Regional Systems Theory of G. W. Skinner. The approach taken here focuses on mapping urban cores and their rural peripheries based on available disaggregated urban population estimates for 1741 cities according to six main historical periods from ca. 3700 BCE to 1900 CE. As a result, a spatial history of some regional-scale changes wrought by increasing modes of capitalism in the Modern and Industrial periods may be compared with earlier …

One Book—Two Authors—Whose Ideas?, Leland Conley Barrows

Comparative Civilizations Review

This short essay attempts to answer some questions that came to my mind regarding the authorship and the origin of ideas developed in De la Sénégambie française (Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot Frères, Fils et Cie., 1855) by Frédéric Carrère and Paul Holle, two notables of mid-nineteenth century Saint-Louis, Senegal. I had been commissioned to prepare an analysis of the attitudes towards Islam of the authors for Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History 1500-1900, a multi-volume series of bibliographical studies under preparation by the Department of Theology and Religion of the University of Birmingham in England being published, volume by …

Imagining An Asian American Superhero Of North Korean Origin: A Design Fiction, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

My talk, a thought-experimental blend of literary criticism and speculative "design fiction," will introduce you to an Asian American superhero of North Korean origin. In this science-fictional superhero, whom I have tentatively named "구름"/"☁️"/"Ku-reum," Korea's elusive realities coalesce into legible form. More specifically, they become available for narrative experience and relatable to us as an anthropomorphic character, a person with whom we might identify, come face-to-face, sympathize, interact dynamically, and have a conversation. Ku-reum is designed to reflect Korea's complex past and hopes for the future. Existing beyond division systems, Ku-reum uses the non-binary pronouns "one"/"they." Neither "South" nor "North," …

Notes On Contributors, Molly Lynde-Recchia

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No abstract provided.

On Tasso In Prison By Charles Baudelaire, Sharon Fish Mooney

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Translation of and commentary on Baudelaire's "On Tasso in Prison," which is an ekphrastic poem after Delacroix's painting of the same name.

Four Poems By Toshiko Hirata, Eric Hyett, Spencer Thurlow

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Translations of "Is It February?" "Is It March?" "Is It November Again?" and "Is It December Again?"

Lullaby By Rainer Maria Rilke And Amen By Georg Trakl, Wally Swist

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No abstract provided.

Drops From Black Candles By Abdallah Zrika, Mike Baynham

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English translation of Abdallah Zrika's "Drops from black candles" accompanied by an essay on the translation process which includes consideration of Laâbi's French translation of the same poem.

While Dreaming, While Writing (Excerpt) By Max Alhau, Patrick Williamson

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A free rendering of Max Alhau's "While dreaming, while writing," with commentary. The original source text is included.

Corona By Paul Celan, David Capps

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No abstract provided.

Five Poems By Michael Krüger, Louise Stoehr

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No abstract provided.

Two Poems By Charles Baudelaire, Arnold Johnston

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Arnold Johnston's translations of Baudelaire's "The Lovely Ship" and "Invitation to the Voyage."

Blue Crystal By Martha Hofmann, Paul J. Shlichta

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A translation of a German poem by Martha Hofmann into English verse. The commentary includes a brief biography of Hofmann and a link to additional information.

Two Poems By Nohad Salameh, Susanna Lang

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Susanna Lang's translations of Nohad Salameh's "I Greet You, My Twin" and "Dance of the One/the Moon."

Four Sonnets By Feng Zhi, Emily Goedde

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Translation of Feng Zhi's Sonnets 6, 12, 16, and 18 by Emily Goedde.

Six Poems By Safiye Can, Marilya V. Reese

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Translations into English of six pieces of poetry by Safiye Can, Circassian-German poet from Offenbach.

P.E.N member Safiye Can pronounced like John), award-winning and best-selling Circassian poet from Offenbach, is a German citizen. Can studied philosophy, psychoanalysis and law at the Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main and is the recent recipient of two prestigious literary prizes (Else Lasker-Schüler Poetry prize and Alfred-Müller-Felsenburg Prize for Civil Courage in Literature). Can’s work examining the place of the individual in society reframes concepts of home and belonging. Safiye Can was featured at the 20^th annual, week-long Leselenz, Germany’s largest non-urban literary …

Persistence Of Memory After A Poem By Bashō, John Savoie

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This piece merges a classic haiku of Bashō with a contemporary English poem, first as its own new creative piece, then contemplated further in the commentary.

Four Poems By Rainer Maria Rilke, Susan Mclean

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Translations of four German poems from New Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926): "The Blind Man," "The Donor," "The Arrival," and "Lady on a Balcony."

From The Villa By Lucretius, James E. Fowler

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"From the Villa" is an epistolary poem in hexameters whose argument is loosely based on the Lucretius's De Rerum Natura. It is addressed to Lucretius's putative dedicatee/patron Gaius Memmius, a contemporary politician and poet.

My Dear Double By Abdellatif Laâbi, Guillemette C. Johnston, Allan Johnston

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This translation of Abdellatif Laabi's poem "My Dear Double" is accompanied by an essay on the theme of the double in literature.

Foreword, Molly Lynde-Recchia

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No abstract provided.

Transference Vol. 8, Fall 2020, Molly Lynde-Recchia

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No abstract provided.

Comment By John Grayzel, John Grayzel

Comparative Civilizations Review

There is no question that pandemics can shake up a seemingly stable set of circumstances and, in that way, affect history.

J. C. Sharman. Empires Of The Weak: The Real Story Of European Expansion And The Creation Of The New World Order, Niv Horesh

Comparative Civilizations Review

Warfare had undergone many revolutionary changes over the centuries. Hittite chariots, for example, are said to have spread east and south bolstering aristocracies at the dawn of urbanization some three thousand years ago. Then, the quality of swords and armouries infinitely improved, as the infantry steadily took centre stage, and the Iron Age swept across Eurasia and, later on, Africa. The Chinese invented the crossbow as early as the 7th Century BCE, and Hannibal surprised the Romans with elephants few centuries later.

Comment By Michael Andregg, Michael Andregg

Comparative Civilizations Review

We have already determined that global civilization is experiencing a flurry of interrelated crises that challenge many things we hold dear, in extremis, human survival.

Comment By Andrew Targowski, Andrew Targowski

Comparative Civilizations Review

Pandemic 2020, triggered by the coronavirus, reminds us that life on Earth has been evolving for 3.5 billion years from a virus, which is just a deficient bacterium.

Comment By John Berteaux, John Berteaux

Comparative Civilizations Review

In discussions of how the state should react to the current pandemic, one controversial issue has involved whether it should force citizens to wear masks when in public. As a matter of fact, from New Orleans, Louisiana to Turlock, California, and from Aurora, Colorado to San Antonio, Texas, individuals asked to put on a mask have occasionally turned violent.

Comment By Connie Lamb, Connie Lamb

Comparative Civilizations Review

The Coronavirus pandemic put a halt to many normal activities. One of the institutions heavily impacted by the virus is libraries.