ALL-PURPOSE FACILITY
You were a noted venue
and I would often rent you
for some special attraction.
Equipped to meet any need,
enhance any intention,
sometimes you’d be my circus,
or you’d flaunt a convention.
But my business wore you out.
Now you’re vacant and condemned.
DEPOSITION
Thinking’s rearranging information
will displace
thin kings rear-ranging in formation
THE DAY I FRUIT BASKETED
In morning I wore a peach.
The sun oranged me at the beach.
Evening brought me raspberried.
How fruitful! How varied!
REPORTING FOR DUTY
Like the Snowy Egret,
at any given second--
always you will entrance.
To your brushy entrance
I am ordered to second.
I obey. I regret.
DEAR DEPARTURE
Reason, in fact, is irrelevant --
Treason does occur, despite intent.
Butterfly, goodbye -- your flitting's lost its power.
Sigh and sigh, flatter, flirt. Flutter your eyes by the hour.
Fear of your favor's loss finally dissipated,
"Dear," and I learn how grossly lonely is overrated.
...
The Value of a Life
. . . the wellsprings of creative phantasy
which make life worth living.— Anthony Storr
What makes it worth the mocking
of what you cannot have,
the fog of what you cannot know,
the mortality of what you love,
the meanness of humanity?
Many say “Love”
but do not believe it.
Others say “God”;
few become saints.
Some say “Humankind,”
but they litter history with corpses.
Then someone gives it a name,
and it shines bright above you,
a lamp of enamel and gold.
Or, far away, it sings,
drawing you down a nave
toward the shadows
of the choir, the carved
panels above the sanctuary
and the tomb of your fathers.
It is a fairy tale
you tell yourself in the night
against the treacherous body,
a broken bell that coughs like a patient
warning you of questions you cannot answer,
against the night flies dancing in the beam
of a weak flashlight
as you walk, from darkness
through darkness toward darkness,
toward a point of light small as a star in the black woods.
_____
Christopher Bernard’s book The Socialist’s Garden of Verses won a PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award and was named one of the “Top 100 Indie Books of 2021” by Kirkus Reviews.
MARLOVIAN OVER-REACHER IN THE LUXURY RAUNCH OF DEVIL
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand
John Milton wrote ‘Paradise Lost’ to justify the ways of God to man. The man that we meet in Eden has now stumbled into the 21st century but his reluctant preference for the tree of knowledge has now become a passionate quest into the unknown. And we are face to face with several existential questions whose answers no thinker has provided till date: Can man know everything? Can he possess the ultimate knowledge? Is the physical world the only world about which man should know? What about the invisible forces which control men? Can AI bring to man insights into those realms which have been held sacrosanct till today?
In one of my poems, Godrok, which won me the title of the Grok Star from the xAI, I have shown how AI is helping Yama also in creating charge sheets, and serving them while man is still on the ventilator itself, and instead of death taking him into oblivion, the AI reconstitutes him on the hospital bed, into a small child, and is handed over to his new parents, with his entire memory reset.
With technological advances like Grok, we see technology running ahead of man. If we look at it dispassionately, advances in science and technology are meant to make life more livable, comfortable, and easy, so that most of the human jobs are taken up by technology, leaving time with man, to devote to his mental and moral upliftment, or it can be better described if we say, to bring him into a state of bliss, from where he had digressed.
The Limited Existence
Man is not bad, nor evil intentioned. Only he is crazy, and he forgets his limits. He forgets he has a body which has been forestalled from evolving beyond a certain point. He has eyes which have a limited vision. He has arms which do not extend beyond two feet. How big are his hands and fingers? Everything is in a fine balance, so that if even one becomes excessive in size, it will destroy the balance which characterizes the cosmic creation.
It is often said ‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing’. The truth is that Knowledge is a dangerous domain, and one reason why I call so is that Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden fruit at the instigation of Devil. Even today, we are living in that state of curse. The only proposition that emerges is that we can return to Eden, only if we relinquish all that we have accumulated over the years by way of knowledge? In other words, we shall have to ‘forget’ our knowledge, and press the ‘reset’ button, and return to the state of original intelligence, i.e. innocence. Only then, we can get back into the realm of bliss which was created by God for his chosen species, homo sapiens.
The Puppet and the Divine Will
It is an accepted truth that everything happens as per the Will of God. If man ate the fruit of knowledge, God created conditions, by sending Satan with an insidious message. We should remember that although we try our best to say that God is all powerful, omniscient and omnipresent, still, man has been cleverly endowed with a brain and ideas like ‘free will’. These ideas help God to escape all responsibility. The basic issue is: who provides the stimulus to man to undertake various deeds. Moreover, if we compare life to a film or a play, we shall have to accept that there is a director, and a script writer too, and men are mere actors who cannot trespass their script. It means whatever man does is already scripted and he is being supervised. In this way, it becomes clear that all that is happening is God’s will, and man is an intelligent puppet only.
The puppet is ‘intelligent’ because man is imparted a false feeling of self-importance, that he can do this or do that. Facts are disturbing. Man has no power over his birth. He has no power over the skin of his colour, his parents, the place where he will be born, and whom he will marry and where and how he will die. This shows that all these things are like different roles which have been prewritten. Otherwise, you won’t be on the stage.
In a drama, the director is invisible. We feel characters are acting on their own. In real life too, people seem to be acting on their own, while the fact is: they are helpless before an overriding fate. There are thousands of strings which control their actions, and the most surprising thing about human life is we have no idea who is pulling them. We think we are doing everything after brainstorming sessions. And thus, when some good takes place, we garland ourselves. But when something goes amiss, we curse fate. This shows that we accept we are being controlled by a superior force. But here is a catch too. When gods see people engaged in minor ego scuffles, they leave them to their fate. God gives them a long rope, and they strangle themselves to death. Getting free of them, gods go only after people who are meant to move the earth; on whose deeds depends the future architecture of human race.
It is not that we are being controlled, there are theories [Stephen Hawking’s Fermi Paradox] which show that what is happening to us now, the way things are unfolding, might have taken place, on some other planet, years ago. In the planetary world, where objects are situated millions of light years away from each other, it is not possible that things that happened there a year or two back are now unfolding on this earth. After such speculations, the questions gain more density: Do we go anywhere after death? I wonder if we really go anywhere. Going under the earth does not mean extinction. Losing the body and the bones does not mean the end of man. It is a cycle. Death is an illusion which keeps men on tenterhooks.
Justifying Ways of Man to God
Let me get back to my original quest to justify the ways of Man to God. We respond to our changing needs as times change, and relocate the social structures accordingly. AI too is the need of this fast generation. It is a great achievement of human mind, but let me alert you once again, we are navigating in the ocean of knowledge, and it was something God never wanted man to wade in. We have lost our innocence, and our bliss too. But, it is a paradox and a big surprise too, that it has never occurred to us for generations, and the sermonacs too are reluctant to point out this flaw of our civilization which is ‘progressing’ [?] on the wheels of knowledge. Where is it going? Away from its source? Shall it never return?
As pointed out earlier, we are imprisoned in our identity and nature blesses us with certain faculties which are essential to our existence, so that there is a working human being. With AI, we have crossed through the tight borders of reality and now, we can move at a faster pace, look far into planets, and think much faster. It is a feel good factor of our civilization, no doubt, but we shall soon start feeling that this artificial world is too much with us, and we shall start looking for our ‘self’ lost somewhere in this melee of thrills and a sense of artificial achievement.
The Alert
With AI and its ready powers, man has proved that he can create a world of artificial reality, which runs parallel to the original creation of God. But the only difference is that it lacks spontaneity that marks the divine creations. God, as I can see, is happy that if man took the path of knowledge, he has done so well. He is happy with man’s creative and inquisitive powers. But, we should not forget that God never wanted us to digress into Knowledge. God made it into a matter of choice. And even today, no God ever comes to life to force us into decisions we don’t want to take. He actually permitted us to create our own world with powers of the brain. So all this empire of knowledge, which is a creation of man’s choice, actually stands on the wrong side of things. It has a devilish imprint because it was Satan who had initiated man into the world of Knowledge, which was a moral and spiritual deviation. Now, we have taken this moral digression to the heights of non-creative imagination and are blindly following the agenda of corporates who have grabbed all centres of Knowledge. Holy knowledge which came from scriptures fell into the hands of quacks while the knowledge that man has now accumulated is also not neutral. It has an inbuilt mission to divest man of his divinity. Bliss, joy, happiness, are the byproducts of Innocence, towards which we possess neither any reverence, not any inclination. We prefer to remain acquiring knowledge which is an endless pursuit into the realms of nothingness.
Picnicing in the Pleasure Dome of Devil
As I said, we are treading on dangerous ground already, because it’s devil’s luxury raunch where we are camping now. In the first instance are we aware of it? If so, do we really want to renounce these joys and go back to Eden? The condition for entering the tents of God is: emptying this mind of everything we accumulated by way of Knowledge at the behest of Devil [sorry to infer]. Return to Innocence and Bliss it seems is a dream no infected mind will entertain.
If we want that God should own us, [how many of us really want?] we shall have to surrender all our knowledge, and embrace wisdom, and use this knowledge for the welfare of mankind. It is not that man disobeyed God. It was a rehearsed act. God gave man a very long rope. It is for us that we do not let this rope go round and round our neck, in the name of liberty [free will]. We should not forget that God loves his Satan too, because it is his police that strikes and brings to account people who err on the path of duty. Still, God waits for man to return to the divine fold, forsaking all his knowledge, artificial or original, because there [in His Golden Tent] we do not need it. Here too, we did not need so much. We actually overdid ourselves. AI is a Marlovian overreach for man, if he does not realize its evil potential, and surrender his knowledge to divine wisdom.
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, [the Seneca, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky award and Signs Peace Award Laureate, with an opus of 180 books, whose name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia]] is a towering literary figure whose work embodies a rare fusion of creativity, intellect, and moral vision.
When you passed, thoughts of you only occupied my mind.
I held my pillow at night tightly, and during the day,
I busied myself tirelessly to keep from falling apart.
People say you feel like your heart is going to break.
Mine broke into such small pieces that I wondered
if it would ever be put together again.
I would look up at the sky at night sadly.
The stars used to make my wishes come true,
and the moon used to make me feel hopeful.
But then, they brought only memories of us.
The sun, I hoped, would warm me,
also turned away, leaving me cold inside.
I thought I would shrivel and die with you.
You could not run to me as I held out my arms.
Only in my dreams could I find you.
In my sleep, you wiped away my tears.
The presence of your spirit still wraps around me
when I miss you most.
Years later, I now think of you without such sadness
and bask in beautiful memories of us together instead…
Even though I am walking without you.
__________
Love is Perfect
You need never give up your life
nor give up all wins or costs for me
For no monetary value can be placed on love
And in the end, riches will mean nothing…
Only love will remain and never die
because my destiny you are
What God puts together can not be shaken
For it is through him that all good things come
In this life, things are given and taken away
And even a heathen can change his life
For love is perfect, and our prayers were answered
on the day we met, and will certainly remain far beyond death.
_________________________
Kristy Ann Raines was born Kristy Ann Rasmussen in Oakland California, in the United States of America.
She is an accomplished international poet and writer. Kristy has two self-published books on Amazon titled, “The Passion within Me”, and an anthology of epistolary poems, written with a prominent poet from India, Dr. Prasana Kumar Dalai, titled, “I Cross My Heart from East to West”.
She has one children’s short story book coming out soon, titled “Tishya the Dragon”, and a few other children’s stories to follow.
Kristy is also working on finishing two very special fantasy books that have been in the works for quite a few years, titled “Rings, Things and Butterfly Wings” and “Princess and the Lion”.
She is also writing her autobiography titled “My Very Anomalous Life”.
It is her life story that few know about, and the many transformations she went through. She reveals every interesting and sometimes tragic aspect of her life. She shares her failures, victories, tears, joys, losses, heartbreaks, and how she changed, by the grace of God.
A loving family and how two wonderful children stood by her through her transformation to who she is today.
Kristy has received numerous awards for her distinctive writing style and her work as an advocate and humanitarian around the world.
Kristy also enjoys painting, making pottery, writing song lyrics, and being with her family.
She is married, has an older brother and sister, two wonderful children, and is a proud grandmother of three beautiful granddaughters. with one great-grandchild on the way!
Abstract: This paper examines the current state of philology as an academic discipline, highlighting its evolving relevance and the multifaceted challenges encountered in its instruction. While philology traditionally encompassed the study of language in historical and literary contexts, modern transformations in communication technologies, global education trends, and interdisciplinary research have reshaped its scope and pedagogical demands. The study outlines key concerns such as diminishing student interest, marginalization of classical languages, lack of technological integration, and outdated curricula. In addition, it discusses the insufficient training of philology educators and the institutional neglect of humanities in favor of more “practical” disciplines. Drawing on comparative analysis and educational reform theory, the article proposes several strategies to revitalize philological studies, including curriculum modernization, digital literacy enhancement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and policy advocacy. Ultimately, the paper argues for a renewed understanding of philology as a dynamic, culturally enriching, and intellectually rigorous field that can meaningfully contribute to contemporary scholarship and education.
Keywords: philology, teaching challenges, classical languages, digital transformation, interdisciplinary studies, educational reform, curriculum design, linguistic diversity, cultural heritage, critical pedagogy.
Philology, long considered the bedrock of humanistic scholarship, involves the meticulous analysis of texts, languages, and cultural expressions across different historical periods. It integrates various domains of inquiry—linguistics, literary criticism, cultural history, semiotics, and philosophy—to provide a comprehensive understanding of how language both shapes and reflects human experience. At its core, philology is not merely the study of language structures but a profound engagement with the intellectual and cultural legacy embedded in textual traditions. Historically, philology played a central role in the formation of modern academic disciplines. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a dominant force in European universities, providing the methodological foundations for the study of classics, comparative literature, and historical linguistics. It enabled scholars to reconstruct lost languages, interpret ancient manuscripts, and trace the genealogies of ideas and literary forms. The contributions of philologists have been instrumental in preserving cultural memory and fostering intercultural understanding across generations.
However, in the 21st century, philology faces an identity crisis brought about by a range of internal and external factors. The rise of digital media, globalization, and shifting educational paradigms has profoundly transformed how knowledge is produced, transmitted, and valued. As a result, philology is often perceived as an antiquated discipline, disconnected from the pragmatic demands of contemporary society and job markets. The decline of interest in classical languages, the marginalization of textual analysis in favor of empirical or data-driven research, and the reduction of humanities funding further exacerbate this marginalization.
Furthermore, the specialization and compartmentalization of academic knowledge have contributed to the fragmentation of philology into subfields that often lack communication with one another. Literary studies, applied linguistics, and historical linguistics now frequently operate in isolation, diluting the integrative spirit that once defined philological inquiry. This disintegration poses a serious threat to the discipline’s coherence and pedagogical effectiveness. Yet, philology remains uniquely positioned to offer critical insights into language change, cultural continuity, and the intellectual heritage of civilizations. In an age marked by linguistic homogenization and cultural commodification, the tools and perspectives of philology are more necessary than ever. To reclaim its relevance, the discipline must not only reassess its methodologies but also embrace new pedagogical strategies, technological innovations, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Philology, as a discipline concerned with the critical study of texts and languages in their historical development, has undergone significant transformations. Once central to intellectual life, philology now contends with marginalization in an era dominated by STEM priorities and utilitarian educational policies. The traditional focus on classical languages and ancient texts has been replaced or de-emphasized in favor of fields deemed more “market-relevant.”
The rise of digital technologies and global communication has also reshaped textuality itself. Texts are now multimodal, hyperlinked, and collaborative, challenging philologists to expand their analytical frameworks. This evolving textual ecology requires a methodological shift from static, print-centered approaches to dynamic, interdisciplinary strategies that include digital humanities, corpus linguistics, and media studies. Failure to adapt risks rendering philology obsolete in the eyes of students and policymakers alike.
Furthermore, the disciplinary fragmentation of linguistics, literary studies, cultural studies, and philosophy has weakened philology’s integrative identity. Each sub-discipline has developed its own methods, terminology, and institutional structures, often at the expense of holistic inquiry. Reintegrating these domains under a renewed philological paradigm is essential for restoring the coherence and vitality of the field.
Many philology curricula still rely on traditional syllabi that emphasize memorization, grammar translation methods, and the study of canonical texts without fostering critical engagement. This approach fails to resonate with contemporary learners, who often seek relevance, creativity, and interdisciplinarity in their education. The lack of incorporation of current global issues—such as multilingualism, language endangerment, postcolonial theory, and digital literacy—further distances students from the discipline. Moreover, the teaching of philology is often disconnected from contemporary linguistic realities, such as language contact, sociolects, and the evolution of internet language. Without contextual grounding in real-world linguistic phenomena, philological studies risk appearing antiquated and detached from lived experience.
The waning institutional support for classical languages (e.g., Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, Old Turkic) poses a grave threat to philological research. These languages are not merely vehicles of historical knowledge but are also essential for understanding foundational texts of civilizations. Simultaneously, many indigenous and minority languages—rich in oral and literary traditions—are underrepresented in philological study due to linguistic prejudice, limited resources, or geopolitical marginalization.
Neglecting these languages not only undermines cultural diversity but also diminishes the epistemological breadth of the discipline. The revitalization of endangered and marginalized languages must become a core concern of modern philological inquiry and teaching.
Another critical issue lies in the insufficient professional development of philology educators. Many instructors lack access to contemporary teaching methodologies, technological tools, and interdisciplinary frameworks. As a result, teaching often remains didactic and monologic, leaving little room for interactive or student-centered learning. Moreover, institutional frameworks frequently deprioritize philological programs in budget allocations, research funding, and hiring decisions. This structural neglect discourages young scholars from entering the field and limits opportunities for curricular innovation. Reversing this trend requires a strategic revaluation of the humanities within university governance and educational policy.
While the digital humanities have made notable progress, philology as a whole has been slow to adopt digital tools. Resources such as digitized corpora, text-mining software, annotation platforms, and digital archives offer unprecedented opportunities for analysis and pedagogy. Yet, these remain underutilized in most philological programs.
Incorporating these tools not only enhances the analytical capabilities of students and researchers but also opens new avenues for collaboration and public engagement. A digitally literate philologist is better equipped to navigate and interpret the complex textual landscapes of both the past and the present.
To align with contemporary academic and social contexts, philology curricula must be restructured to include modern literary and linguistic theories, cross-cultural textual studies, and thematic modules focused on topics such as identity, power, gender, and translation. Comparative studies across languages and cultures should be emphasized to promote intercultural literacy and global awareness.
Additionally, integrating modern languages and vernaculars into philological research can bridge the gap between classical and contemporary linguistic inquiry, thereby expanding the discipline’s relevance and reach.
Philology must reclaim its role as a hub of interdisciplinary exchange. Collaboration with fields such as anthropology, sociology, history, political science, and information technology can enrich philological analysis and broaden its impact. Joint programs and research projects that blend textual scholarship with empirical methods and digital tools can foster innovation while preserving core philological principles.
A reformed philological pedagogy should prioritize active learning strategies—such as close reading workshops, textual reconstructions, translation laboratories, and dialogic seminars. Students should be trained not only to interpret texts but also to question the epistemological assumptions underlying those texts and their own interpretive processes.
This reflexive approach cultivates intellectual autonomy, ethical sensitivity, and historical consciousness—qualities that are vital in both academia and civil society.
Adopting digital platforms such as TEI (Text Encoding Initiative), Voyant Tools, and online manuscript repositories can revolutionize how philological data is accessed and analyzed. Teaching students how to use such tools fosters digital literacy and provides them with practical skills applicable in diverse career paths.
Universities and research centers should invest in infrastructure, training, and open-access initiatives to democratize access to philological resources and enhance the visibility of the discipline globally.
Philology, though often perceived as a relic of classical scholarship, continues to hold immense relevance in understanding the linguistic, cultural, and intellectual trajectories of human societies. Its interdisciplinary nature allows for deep engagement with texts—not merely as linguistic artifacts, but as repositories of worldview, identity, and historical memory. As such, philology is not a discipline bound to the past; rather, it offers tools for critical reflection that are vital to navigating the complexities of the present and the uncertainties of the future.
Nevertheless, the contemporary academic and educational landscape poses significant threats to the sustainability of philological inquiry. Institutional neglect, the dominance of market-driven educational models, and the waning popularity of humanities subjects have led to declining enrollments, reduced research funding, and curricular marginalization. Compounded by inadequate pedagogical innovation and technological lag, these factors have created a crisis of identity and purpose within the discipline.
However, these challenges should not be viewed as terminal, but rather as catalysts for reform. This paper has argued that philology can—and must—adapt to contemporary realities through a multifaceted strategy. Key among these are the modernization of curricula to reflect current linguistic and cultural concerns, the incorporation of digital tools to enhance research and pedagogy, and the promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration to bridge gaps between traditional and emerging fields of knowledge.
Moreover, re-centering philology in educational policy discussions is essential. Institutions must recognize that philological education fosters not only linguistic and textual competence, but also critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and cultural literacy—skills that are indispensable in today’s interconnected and rapidly evolving world. Investments in faculty development, student engagement initiatives, and public humanities projects can help revitalize the discipline and reaffirm its societal value.
In conclusion, the future of philology depends on our collective willingness to reimagine its role within modern academia and beyond. By embracing innovation while remaining faithful to its intellectual foundations, philology can once again serve as a bridge between disciplines, cultures, and generations—ensuring its enduring relevance in both scholarship and education.
References
1. Pollock, S. (2009). Future Philology? The Fate of a Soft Science in a Hard World. Critical Inquiry, 35(4), 931–961.
2. Turner, J. (2014). Philology: The Forgotten Origins of the Modern Humanities. Princeton University Press.
3. Byram, M. (2013). Language teaching and intercultural competence. Multilingual Matters.
4. Hafner, C. A. (2017). Reimagining language pedagogy in the digital age. Language Learning & Technology, 21(1), 1–15.
5. McCarty, W. (2011). Digital Humanities and the Future of Philology. Literary and Linguistic Computing, 26(4), 409–424.
