English Language and Literature Commons^™

Volume 10 Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal offers a compelling collection of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism, highlighting a variety of literary styles and themes. Originally archived as Volume 10, Issue 1, this issue is actually Volume 14, Issue 2, covering Spring 1996. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

This issue explores themes of memory, identity, relationships, humor, and the role of storytelling in literature. It features an engaging blend of narrative poetry, …

Volume 9, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal offers a rich collection of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism, reflecting a diverse array of voices and themes. Originally archived as Volume 9, Issue 2, this issue is actually Volume 14, Issue 1, covering Fall 1995. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

This issue explores themes of war and memory, identity and self-discovery, artistic expression, and regional storytelling, featuring works that delve into deeply personal and …

Volume 9, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal presents a compelling collection of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism, offering a diverse and thought-provoking exploration of contemporary literature. Originally archived as Volume 9, Issue 1, this issue is actually Volume 13, Issue 2, covering Spring 1995. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

This issue features a remarkable selection of Arkansas Tech Writers, showcasing student contributions alongside established literary voices. Themes of family, identity, war, and …

Volume 8, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal is a remarkable showcase of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism, highlighting a diverse range of voices and themes. Originally archived as Volume 8, Issue 2, this issue is actually Volume 13, Issue 1, covering Fall 1994. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

This issue features a special section dedicated to New Formalism, a poetic movement that sought to reintroduce traditional meter and narrative structures into contemporary …

Volume 8, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This special double issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal is a powerful collection of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism, originally archived as Volume 8, Issue 1, but actually Volume 12, Issues 1 & 2, covering Spring 1994. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

This issue is dedicated to Dr. William D. Seidensticker, a professor of philosophy at Arkansas Tech University, whose intellectual contributions and passion for philosophical inquiry inspired many students and faculty. …

Volume 7, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal presents a rich and thought-provoking selection of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary reviews, reflecting the breadth and diversity of contemporary literary voices. Originally archived as Volume 7, Issue 2, this issue is actually Volume 11, Issue 2, covering Fall 1993. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

This issue features deeply introspective poetry, with themes ranging from personal history and memory in On Finding My Grandmother’s Letters to the …

Volume 7, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal continues its commitment to showcasing an eclectic mix of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism. Originally archived as Volume 7, Issue 1, this issue is actually Volume 11, Issue 1, covering Spring 1993. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

With a focus on experimental storytelling, mythology, historical narratives, and contemporary literary criticism, this issue captures a range of voices from both student contributors and established writers. Highlights include …

Volume 6, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal continues its tradition of publishing a diverse array of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art, offering a platform for both emerging and established writers. Originally archived as Volume 6, Issue 2, this issue is actually Volume 10, Issue 2, covering Fall 1992. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original journals.

Featuring an eclectic mix of contemporary poetry, short fiction, and literary essays, this issue captures a broad spectrum of themes, …

Volume 6 Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This special edition of Nebo: A Literary Journal, titled "Herstory", is a tribute to the voices of women writers throughout history and across cultures. Originally archived as Volume 6, Issue 1, this issue is actually Volume 10, Issue 1, covering Fall and Spring of the 1991-1992 academic year. Due to necessary metadata adjustments in the digital archiving process, some volume and issue numbers in the online collection may not match those printed in the original print editions.

This issue explores the rich contributions of women in literature, featuring poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, and literary criticism. …

Volume 5, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

This issue of Nebo: A Literary Journal represents a dynamic collection of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, and visual art, showcasing a diverse range of voices from emerging and established writers. Originally archived as Volume 5, Issue 2, this issue is actually Volume 9, covering Fall and Spring of the 1990-1991 academic year. As part of the ongoing archival process, some volume and issue numbers in the digital collection may not correspond with those printed in the original journals. Despite these variations, the commitment of Nebo to fostering literary excellence and supporting the creative arts remains unwavering. This …

Volume 6, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo, Volume 6, Issue 2 (Fall 1987), continues its dedication to showcasing a diverse array of literary voices through poetry, fiction, and critical reviews. Although this issue is labeled as Volume 6, Issue 1 within the journal itself, it is officially recognized as Volume 6, Issue 2 in the Nebo archive. Featuring contributions from writers such as John Gery, H.L. Hix, and Katharyn Machan Aal, this issue explores themes of war, memory, identity, and the craft of storytelling. Highlights include poetic reflections on personal and historical trauma, introspective explorations of human relationships, and critical essays on contemporary literary works. …

Volume 6, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo, Volume 6, Issue 1 (Spring 1987), continues its tradition of showcasing a rich array of literary voices through poetry, fiction, and critical reviews. This issue presents a mix of evocative storytelling and thought-provoking verse, featuring works by authors such as Grace Cash, Jim Finley, and Paul Lake. The selections engage with themes of history, place, love, and existential reflection, capturing both the personal and the universal. With its roots in Arkansas Tech University, Nebo remains a vibrant platform for emerging and established writers, offering a compelling collection of creative expression.

Volume 5, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo, Volume 5, Issue 1 (Spring 1986), showcases a diverse range of literary works, including poetry, fiction, and critical reviews. This issue features compelling short stories that explore themes of identity, memory, and transformation, while the poetry selections capture moments of personal and collective experience. Highlights include works by Jack Butler, Marian Motley-Carcache, and other contributors, as well as critical reviews of contemporary literary works. Published by Arkansas Tech University, Nebo continues its tradition of providing a platform for emerging and established writers.

Volume 4, Issues 1 & 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo, Volume 4, Issues 1 & 2 (Spring 1985), represents another milestone in Arkansas Tech University’s biannual literary journal, continuing its tradition of publishing exceptional poetry, fiction, and literary reviews. This double issue brings together a wide array of voices, styles, and themes, reflecting both the emerging and established literary talents that Nebo seeks to amplify.

This edition features works from a diverse lineup of writers, including Barbara Eckstein, Jack Butler, Janet McCann, Vernon Frazer, Marvin Schwartz, and Daniel Mark-Epstein, among many others. Their works explore human relationships, memory, place, and transformation, offering readers a compelling mix of …

Volume 2, Issue 2

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo, Volume 2, Issue 2 (Fall 1984), continues Arkansas Tech University’s tradition of publishing exceptional poetry and fiction through its biannual literary journal. Edited by students with faculty guidance, this issue features a compelling selection of works that explore themes of memory, transformation, identity, and the intricacies of human experience.

This issue includes poetry and fiction from a diverse group of writers, including John Gery, Wyatt Prunty, Laura McLaughlin, David Mason, and many more. Their works range from deeply personal reflections to broader cultural commentaries, showcasing a wide variety of literary styles.

Additionally, Nebo proudly celebrates the achievements of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

“Women Who Don’T Know How To Stay Married”: The Poetic Afterlives Of The 1927 Bristol Sessions, Aubrey R. Adkins

Honors Theses

This project begins from the understanding that song lyrics can have lasting impacts on the poetic work that proceeds from them, and can and should, therefore, be read as literature. In the cultural context of Southern Appalachia, a historically underserved and academically underrepresented region, this understanding is intertwined with Audre Lorde’s idea that “For women...[poetry] is a vital necessity of our existence.” The women of Southern Appalachia, denied access to particular modes of expression as a result of external circumstances such as poverty and sexism, need poetry, according to Lorde, to take “tangible action” in their lives. What came before …

Revelations: Spirituality As Privileged Perspectivism In Magical Realist Distortions, Isabella Scala-Kazanecki

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the role of spiritual beliefs in the literary mode now known as magical realism in Cuban Alejo Carpentier’s The Kingdom of This World (1949), Indian-Born British and American Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988), and a lesser-known novel, Household Saints (1981) by Francine Prose, an American writer. The Kingdom of This World, itself the originator of the mode of magical realism, has allowed me to conclude with Carpentier that magical realism arises from “privileged revelations,” as he notes in the preface to his seminal book. But these revelations in magical realism are not necessarily always of the …

The Benefit Of New Perspective: An Analysis Of Postcolonial Adaptation, Sara L. Tilbe

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In our modern world, the concept of literary adaptation is not unheard of. Each release of a new, popular text comes with an underlying chance that it will likely be snatched up by Hollywood executives to be told through a cinematic setting. However, there is less fanfare when it comes to the topic of literary adaptation, particularly of famous texts that are deemed “classic” of the literary canon. Usually, any news of a literary adaptation of a classic book is meant with polarizing views from the general public. Some welcome the change, excited for what a new author can bring …

Heterogeneous Being: The Inhumanities And The Creative-Scientific Aesthetic, Steven L. Ogden

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Heterogeneous Being attempts to set the often-disunited aspects of the sciences and humanities in congruence and to extol and advance a hybrid creative-scientific aesthetic that moves beyond any restricted dimensions of its previously segregated fields of study. It likewise expresses the need to perpetuate that hybrid form of inquiry and representation to successfully address or convey the precarious realities of Earth’s ecological and environmental conditions. Heterogeneous Being asks readers to observe the inexhaustible proofs of our pluralized configurations with the nonhuman world, to recognize the agentic potentialities nonhuman subjects may hold both in and outside of those inhuman enmeshments, and …

"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 …