Discusses the ghosts and haunting in recent American fiction. Considers the similarity of function of ghosts in contemporary ethnic American literatures. Identifies a specific kind of ghost story, a "cultural haunting," that has recently emerged in large numbers in ethnic American literature. (HB)

Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, and Anne Tyler have all dealt with spiritual journeys and card reading in their writings. In his book "Tarot Revelations," Joseph Campbell discusses his first association with tarot cards, dating from 1943, when he was introduced to the symoblism of playing cards by his friend and mentor, Heinrich Zimmer. Carl…

The uncritical acceptance of Plato's treatment of sophistic doctrines (specifically in Plato's dialogue the "Gorgias") in the university has resulted in an impoverished contemporary view of sophistic rhetoric. Since Socrates' foundational epistemology allows for the knowledge of immutable truth and Gorgias' relativistic epistemology does…

The works of early printing historians must be read with considerable caution. (Author)

This report describes a long-range project designed to make available to the general public all the printed works authored by Mark Twain in "authoritative texts" that correspond as closely as possible with his last known or discoverable intent. Briefly outlined are the project's methodology for selection of 13 editors working under a…

Children's magazines are evaluated for their literary merit and content. Subscription information is included. (JD)

Poets usually employ enjambement to communicate experiences in which, after repeated frustration, a human subject suddenly overcomes limitations and goes beyond previous limits. (DD)

A discussion of current thought on faith, theology, and symbols is followed by an annotated bibliography of ten books for additional reading in this area. (AP)

A layman's guide to three critical schools: Reception Aesthetics, Geneva Criticism, and Buffalo Criticism. (DD)

By locating meaning exclusively in the reader in his theory of literary criticism, Stanley Fish denies the possibility of change. (DD)

Asserts that the poetry of James Reeves has been neglected but shows, through attention to his poetry, that perhaps he wanted to be inconspicuous. (SRT)

Argues that, by returning to the rhetorics of killing and love, the Rogerian rhetoric of love represents a rhetoric of collective repression because it precludes the social, the principle of which is a dialectic of division and unity. Contrasts the Burkean and Rogerian views on the subject. (JD)

Applies Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of the novel to Bertolt Brecht's "Drums in the Night" to illuminate the play's dialogic structure and alienation value, and reappropriate its prerevolutionary dimensions for contemporary use. (MM)

Discusses the various roles of the pig in children's books, including E. B. White's CHARLOTTE'S WEB and Nina Bawden's PEPPERMINT PIG. Notes that, although pigs are often used as metaphors for greed, gluttony, and squalor, the portrayal of pigs in children's literature is typically positive. (MM)

Discusses elements that are characteristic of good books: (1) impacts society; (2) changes our personal lives; (3) stretches the reader's mind; (4) handles ideas with skill; (5) is reread; (6) refines our sensibilities and intellect; (7) serves as a standard; and (8) adds to our knowledge of the human condition. (24 references) (MES)