Examine close reading of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale with critical perspectives and textual references.

Margaret Atwood’s masterpiece  “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a phenomenal dystopian speculative fiction of contemporary totalitarianism and authoritarianism “within Western society and within Christian tradition itself”.  Old Testamentary militarized hierarchy disempowers women’s emancipation and dismantles womanhood into the closetted fetters of patriarchalism and misogyny as encountered by the tragic handmaids Offred and Ofglen. The worldview of casually held attitudes about women is a real life problem exposition of social commentary critiquing antifeminism and gender treachery, ecological disasters like nuclear radiation and chemical pollution, civil war and political turmoil, widespread sterility/ infertility and sexually transmitted diseases (HIVs and AIDs) contagion. New England Puritanism of Gileadean microcosm is a metafictional epilogue of post futuristic dystopian society purporting to be the premise of international historical association conference 2195. “Loving neighbours while harbouring animosity for the arbitrary adversaries reflect stranding of beleaguered populace within the communion and community. Offred is otherized as a concubine and wanton woman of the preGileadean regime. Offred’s reproductive machinery emblematically symbolizes sacrificial offering as a two legged womb fertility and/or surrogacy despite her malicious victimhood vulnerable to the vicious status quo as adulteress and strumpet. Mooning and Juneing of the coterie damsels and brothel courtesans reflect the objectification of commodified property of male gaze as extrapolated by the novelist. Gileadean feminization refrain and restrain from womanizing creatures of male power fantasies. Sexuality and gender stereotyping apartheid of womanhood is subversively challenged by subalterns and marthas, Rita and Nick, harbouring solidarity with the Mayday Resistance movement. Nick is hired by Serena Joy to cuckold Offred in return of heir to eclipse sexual impotency and emasculative effeminacy of her masterly lord husband, the commandant. However, Nick embodies humanness and philanthropism through espousal of escapade for the entrapped maiden’s absconsion to Canada. 

Atwood’s feminist utopian idealism pontificates that masculine system is the major cause of social and political problems and showcases women as not only as the least equals of men but also as the sole arbiters of their reproductive functions. The novel is detrimental to Christian tradition because of being sexually explicit, violently graphic and morally corrupt. Anti Biblical teachings pertaining to sexuality and gender education are preached within the domain of The Handmaid’s Tale. However, the novel is a masterpiece of dystopian speculative fiction that espouses the exploration of “the most insidious and violent manifestations of power in Western history”.  Jezebels and handmaids are iconoclastic milestones and cornerstones of enforced sexual captivity sanctioned by the Gileadean regime. Furthermore allegorical satire of the en masse non white African Americans rehabilitation and/or en route of Jewish diasporic exodus community repatriation to New Jerusalem have been depicted by the novelist. This dystopian nightmarish speculative fiction anchors barren wives of the elite class as royalists and depersonalizes the subjectivity of the subaltern other gender as fertility machines in accord with their reproductive agencies. Moreover, segregationist and separatist abortion rights and declining birth rates in Romanian and Canadian territorial context are allegorized. The universalistically spectacular appeal of the novel distinctively intertwines interlacing of feminist survivor characters’ destinies with ideological absolutism of the tyrannical apartheid. Racial persecution and ethnic cleansing cast vulnerable survivalists as prey into the cascade of fanaticism, extremism and fundamentalism.  

Regressive and repressive state policies of conservative Gilead disfavours women’s rights movement including sapphic individuals, abortionists, abolitionists, religious sects and banishing Jews, elderly females and non white populace to the territorial outskirts of radioactive fallout colonies. As a feminist activist Margaret Atwood voices for women’s education and property power of attorney as manifested through the caricature of Mayday Resistance. Mayday Resistance is bolstered by radical feminist activist Ofglen to overthrow the republic of Gilead. However, the antifeminist traits of the novel marginalizes and otherizes handmaids as mere breeders of reproductive machinery and /or reproductive agencies. These womenfolk relegates themselves as inferior and subservient to social, religious and cosmic roles, duties, obligations and errands sanctified and decreed by state sponsored right wing fundamentalism, rigid dogmas and misogynistic theosophies. Atwood’s Aunt Lydia is a depiction of church-state sponsored staunchest pacifists passive to the women’s resistance and rebellion; vicious preachers casting as spokesperson for antifeminism and urges handmaids to metamorphose themselves in the crux of de-sexuality, impersonality, disfiguration, disembodiment and dehumanization. In contrast, Nick is a renegade mutineering legacy of handmaids through underground networking channels resulting in rescue operations of entrapped maidens. However, the novel’s mimetic impulse of the commander appears more pathetic than sinister, baffled than manipulative and almost at all times a fool personae, thus condoning antifeminism. The narrator-protagonist of Handmaid’s Tale coping, endurance and survival quest after all, transmits translucent beacon of hope and humility for the oppressed minority amidst chilling and depressive uprooted soulless existence of a misogynous regime. Atwood’s subtle transfiguration to heroic feminist survivor sly subversive and determined daring conniver overthrow coercive dungeons of the pervasive canons of Gilead’s ruthlessly dystopian tyrannical nature. “Dark realm within’, ‘cellar’ and ‘attic hiding place’ connote ubiquitous nightmarish envisionings colonizing powers imposed upon handmaid-slave dynamic identity beyond exemplar premises of pervasive canons of Gilead frontiers. Offred’s solicitous gratification with hiraeth is a phantasmal escapism from absurdity and futility and/or defeatism and paralysis of the obsolete frozen barren wasteland. The mind style narrator-protagonist voice and perception is symptomatic of traumatic events and of excluded experiences that exemplifies discourse of a socially marginalized individual more than a woman’s language. Afterall, Eurydice, the Creation- death goddess whose self-expression and self-affirmation epiphanies emerges as evanescently and enigmatically in the resurrected tomb of the buried earthy womb epitomizes Offred’s repressive state of affairs. 

Further Reading, References, Endnotes and Podcasts

Donna J. Haraway’s, 35. Introduction: A Cyborg Manifesto, Science, Technology and Socialist Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century, Routledge New York pp. 149-181

Speculative Fiction Marek Oziewicz, University of Minnesota, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.78, Published online: 29 March 2017

A woman’s place is in the resistance: self, narrative and performative femininity as subversion and weapon in the Handmaid’s Tale by Courtney Landis, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Repository and Digital Archive pp. 1-70

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Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale: Resistance Through Narrating, Hilde Staels, 1995, English Studies, 76:5, pp. 455-467

‘Just a Backlash’: Margaret Atwood, Feminism and The Handmaid’s Tale, Shirley Neuman, pp. 1-12, University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 75, No. 3, Summer 2006.

MY PROFESSION IS MY FUTURE

 Scientific supervisor JDPU, 

 senior teacher H. Shukurova

 1st grade student Ismailova Hilola

 Abstract: This article describes the opinions on the teaching profession and the inner experiences of the 1st-year student who has just entered the university.  The article focuses on glorifying teachers and the fact that this profession is an honorable profession.

 Key words: New Uzbekistan, teacher, sweet memories, teacher, profession, knowledge, dedication, speech, skillful pedagogue, top class, selector, selfless student, president.

 “New Uzbekistan – from the threshold of the

 school,  begins with the education system” 

   Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev

 When I remember that the President did not say the above sentence in vain and that only individuals lie at the bottom of it, my hands tremble and a strange feeling appears in my heart.  The role of our respected teachers who gave their whole lives to work in such a blessed position is incomparable in educating honorable people.  In this place, our respected teachers are accepted and honored with kindness and great fame among the people.  Of course, I think this is true.  It is natural for the people to be happy to see that he gives equal love to all his students with his selflessness, sincerity, and kindness in the path of his profession.  I still remember the day I first stepped into my school.  I was a naive girl who didn’t know who I was, cried like a newborn baby and was capricious, who didn’t know what life was all about.  When I remember the day I first saw my teacher, I think that he is the second reason for the results I am achieving now.  My first teacher was my grandmother, because before I went to school, she took me to kindergarten, taught me how to count, and raised all my joy. 

 When I remember the first pen I held in my hand on the first day of school, my respect for the teachers swells.  One day, my teacher wrote the letter “A” on the blackboard and asked me to write according to this pattern.  That was the first letter I wrote then.  Do you believe?  It turned out so ugly.  When my teacher saw what I wrote, he stared blankly.  I was very afraid then.  I was afraid that they will fight now.  No, my teacher didn’t.  He came to me and said: “You are such a beautiful girl, why don’t your letters be so ugly, in case you become a bad-tempered girl in the future?”  “If you don’t write well, if you don’t learn to speak fluently, you won’t have a place in life.”  I was ashamed and almost crying.  I stared at my writing while blushing, and I couldn’t bring myself to write back, so I couldn’t pick up the pen.  At that moment, my love and interest in the mother tongue faded.  My teacher noticed this quickly.  I can’t forget one piece of advice he gave me the day he started working with me individually.  “Don’t stop fighting, but also get strength from fighting.  Do not forget that no matter how many attempts are made, they will not be useless.  “If you don’t stop moving until you get out of your grip without success, you have lost your life today,” he said.  After that, he sowed the seed of knowledge in my heart and became a person of great value to me.  I was young at that time, I did not know the meaning of such words, what kind of concept they mean.  After that, I confidently continued to write the letter “A” again and again.  Yes, I tried a lot.  It is not the same in one, but it is the same in the other.  The same thing happened to me.  The result of my efforts was not ineffective.  When I remember such sweet memories, every moment I spent with my teacher is vivid in my eyes.  I think that whether a great person or an ordinary person remembers his first day at school, he feels a special impression and happy mood.  They yearn to return to that era, sometimes crying.  So, what do you think is the reason for his longing?  Of course, in the people who left sweet memories along the way with us as we come to life.  The reason why we remember that time and miss it is because of our teacher’s love.

My grandmother is currently working as a skilled pedagogue, a high-class primary education specialist.  I envied my grandmother when she taught, and I also considered the profession of a teacher worthy of me.  But my grandmother told me that it is not easy.  I used to think about the difficulties in the difficult profession of teaching.  However, if you want to achieve this from the bottom of your heart, no one and nothing can stand in your way.  See, my intention is devoid of truth.  I am a student of the Faculty of Primary Education of Jizzakh State Pedagogical University named after Abdulla Qadiri, which has a great history of 50 years, is powerful and has good results in our country. 

 It is an honor for me to become a teacher.  Think for yourself, from the janitor to the president, from the builder to the businessman, from the driver to the pilot, from the marketer to the breeder, from the specialist to the lawyer, there are all professions behind which lies the result of our teacher.  Our teacher will be our guide who will help us understand our past, understand ourselves, and know our abilities.  They do everything seriously.  In fact, both the scientist and the worker come from the same teacher and the same classroom.

 It is clear that mature and great people will emerge only from a teacher who can awaken love for his profession.  No matter how difficult it is, my passion for my profession does not fade.  I want to remember these professionals with a sweet memory for a lifetime.  Besides, justifying the knowledge they have given me, I will continue to achieve great results.  I need to find the right way to do this.  The main thing is that I should instill in myself the feeling of loyalty and dedication to my profession.  Along the way, I was accompanied by a team of teachers from the Faculty of Primary Education of Jizzakh State Pedagogical University. 

 After all, even though it has been less than a month since I came to the faculty, I was very happy to see the opinion and trust of our teachers during the introduction process.  Our teachers, who spoke, explained to us that we will join the ranks of talented students, and at the same time, that our state has created many opportunities for talented students, and listed the talented students of the previous academic years by name.  The university has a website “Akademiya.uz” for the promotion of talented students, and the articles and published works of all talented students are evaluated on this website.  I thought about all the ideas and carefully weighed them.  Our teachers are truly showing us the true path.  Besides, the trips we made around the university with our teacher were very enjoyable and interesting.  During such an intense trip, we also visited the palace of culture of our university. Our team liked the equipment there.  Students interested in guitar, piano, flute and trumpet are spending their free time here today.  In particular, we were convinced that the presence of books in the library in both paper and electronic form is a comfortable environment for any student.  I believed that it was a library full of books, so that we could not look for a lecture on any topic.  Seeing that our university is currently working on the “Hemis platform”, I thought that this was the first example of efforts to ensure transparency in education.  Strict action will also be taken against those who stay in class.  A credit module system has been launched for each subject.  Our teachers called us to be vigilant by telling such warning deeds.

Indeed, after hearing about the opportunities available to talented young people in our Republic, I felt a desire to join the ranks of talented students.  The number of our students using this opportunity is unlimited.  I can emphasize that Aziza Amonova, a graduate of the Faculty of Elementary Education of Jizzakh State Pedagogical University named after Abdulla Kadiri, received the Navoi scholarship for the 2023-2024 academic year, Umid Kadirov “Mard” boy.  Ergasheva Mehriniso, who is one of the proud students, is the owner of the scholarship named after Navoi.  Fingers are not enough to count our proud young people.  It was the team of our university that made several of our students achieve great success in their personal lives.  As a result of their success, they were admitted to the master’s degree as a student on a preferential basis.  We are currently monitoring the results together. 

 Look, let’s think about it.  If you ask such people the reason why they achieve great results, they will point to their teacher without hesitation.  Sometimes there are those who show their parents.  Now I will turn to the question why there are students who show their parents.  Let me give an example of this question.  My dad is a hero to me.  Because he was able to restore everything from scratch, he ensured that we grow without discrimination among our friends.  Currently, I am far from my parents, but I did not refrain from money or sweet words.  For me, he is my teacher who has an incomparable place in life.  The way they brought up my mother with sweet words and taught me what life is is still ringing in my ears.  Both of these people are my wings, my first teacher and people who have reached the level of being my whole body for me.  I am proud to say that all the people who are fighting shoulder to shoulder with me in my life path are my teachers.  In particular, I set myself the goal of joining the ranks of exemplary and selfless students at the university.  My teacher Shukurova Halima Sunnatullayevna, who understood this goal and helped me earnestly, became a teacher.  Many students ask, why did you choose this teacher?  Have you thought about whether he will be strong enough to work with you when he is older?  they say.  But Ustazim’s many experiences, his motherly way of delivering his thoughts, and his kind eyes drew people to him.   I have witnessed many times that my teacher also has intuitive abilities. 

 In conclusion, I can say that receiving the status of a teacher and working faithfully to it is an honorable task only for patient, persistent and proud people.  In particular, teachers of primary education should not have such a difficult profession as teaching students from zero, bringing them to the level of a great person, and supporting the student to reach perfection in any situation.  A doctor’s mistake kills a patient, a teacher’s mistake kills the whole world.  As I grow up to be a teacher, I think that the opinion of my teachers, my grandmother’s trust in me, and the attention of my family members are behind me.

References:

 Sh.M. Mirziyoyev “We will continue our path of national development and raise it to a new level.” TASHKENT “UZBEKISTAN” 2017.

 Abdullayeva N. “Kasbim-fakhrim” “Mannaviyat” newspaper 2021.

 Ulug’bekova O. “I bow to my teacher” “Jizzakh Haqikatii” newspaper  2023 year

Ismailova Hilola is the daughter of Alimardon.  She was born in Urganch district of Khorezm region.  Currently, she is a 1st-year student at Jizzakh State Pedagogical University named after Abdulla Kadyrov.  She has a national certificate of the Uzbek language and is a proud student of Academic Lyceum, holder of a red diploma.

Modern education and its advantages in the educational process

 Jizzakh State Pedagogical University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, 3rd stage student, Eshboyev Oybek

 Abstract: The article informs the teacher of the modern educational system about the use of various innovative methods, thinking about new views.  Also.    The issue of the role and importance of modern technologies in improving the quality of education was discussed. 

 Key words: information technologies, video textbook, electronic textbook, information and communication technologies, quality of education, personnel.

        Currently, the number of initiatives to improve the quality of education is increasing significantly.  One of the main tools for improving the quality of education is modern technology.  Today, almost all people know how to use the Internet: smartphone, computer, tablet and similar devices.  Children are no exception.  Children of school age can use these devices and networks almost without problems.  Of course, this is a happy situation, but at the same time, it requires good skills and knowledge from teachers.

      In contrast to the usual technical education tools, information and communication technologies.  (ICT) not only provides students with a large number of ready-made, carefully selected, properly organized knowledge, but also improves students’ intellectual and creative abilities, independent acquisition of new knowledge, and information along with various developments.  allows to develop the skills of working with resources.  The knowledge potential of teachers in the field of ICT is implemented by improving their skills. 

        In order to improve the quality of lessons, teachers should constantly improve their ICT skills, and to meet such requirements, improving their knowledge through individual education is a modern education system.  In addition, it will not be useful for teachers to use various scientific and practical methods. They can share their experience with colleagues through conferences, seminar materials, teachers’ forums, and social networks.  Thus, the introduction of ICT and the use of the Internet to improve the quality of lessons provide the following opportunities:         

 Opportunities in the field of professional skills of teachers; 

 Increasing students’ interest in the lesson; 

  Many opportunities for teachers to approach their profession creatively; 

 Wide opportunities for independent education and remote education of teachers;

            Today, the speed with which the education system is immersed in digital technologies provides a basis for serious analysis and pedagogical justification of much that is currently offered in the information space.  The purpose of this article is to analyze the possibilities of digital technologies, to determine the priority directions of the development of the educational process, their advantages and threats, based on the hypothesis of the need for their scientifically based implementation in the work of higher educational institutions. Digitization of the educational environment can be implemented in various forms.  :

   transfer of existing educational materials, including lectures, presentations, textbooks, tasks for independent work and knowledge control tools to an electronic environment;   

 creation of an interactive electronic environment for the cooperation of teachers and students, including the creation of electronic offices for teachers, conducting webinars, discussion forums, etc.; 

  creation of new types of educational tools: electronic textbooks, electronic problem books, video lectures, quests;  

 creation of fundamentally new forms of education using the possibilities of the electronic environment – expanding the scope of image transmission of information, simulating various situations during role-playing games, simulating competitive games, etc.;

1. Electronic textbooks: 

  Their use helps to solve the following didactic problems: acquisition of basic knowledge of science;  Systematization of acquired knowledge; 

 Learn to answer very confusing questions;  Formation of skills of independent work with educational materials using ICT;  Development of self-control skills; 

 Motivation to learn and study science in general;  Providing educational and methodological support to students in their independent work on educational materials;  Providing a comfortable educational environment and opportunities for independent selection and search of information sources, that is, preparing students for exams in a short time, forming many useful general educational skills in them; 

 2. Video tutorials: 

 The advantage of using video lessons is that you can pause during the exhibition, discuss what you have seen and ask students questions.  Children must draw conclusions from what they see.  The duration of the demonstration should not exceed 10-15 minutes, then the type of training should be changed. Students can also download video lessons for homework.  The video lesson itself can be in different forms, for example, there are three main types of lessons: Explaining a new topic;  Strengthening of knowledge, skills and qualifications;  Generalization and control of knowledge, skills and competences; 

  Advantages of e-learning include:

 1) solving problems of education: elimination of regional barriers to education;  removal of time restrictions – access at a convenient time for the user;  access to classes due to the division of classes into blocks;  learning from highly qualified teachers.

 2) Expansion of options: the ability to choose the teacher and the method of presenting the material;  emphasis on logic, images (associations) or practice (situations, tasks);  the ability to choose the method of assimilation of material: through auditory, visual, motor skills or interactive participation;  the ability to choose the depth of mastering the material – a wide range of courses;  the ability to choose a convenient way to test knowledge: tests, tasks, projects, interactive conversations with artificial intelligence, etc.

 3) Expansion of the forms and means of knowledge transfer: in addition to traditional lectures, performances and seminars, the use of project work, group discussions, role-playing games and competitive games, including with virtual participants, etc.

 4) Socio-economic advantages: the possibility of forming social intellectual networks based on interests;  relatively cheap (high investment and low operating costs).

  it can be said that improving the quality of teaching today requires a wide range of knowledge and skills from the teacher.  Because today students also have a certain level of knowledge about modern technologies.  I think it is good for students to learn the basics of ICT from the teacher, as well as learn about the environment.  Therefore, today there is a need to constantly improve ICT and innovative technological skills of teachers.   With the development of e-learning, the market for educational services is becoming increasingly global.   The goal of introducing information and communication technologies into the educational process is to familiarize students with modern information and technologies, to improve their literacy in this regard, and most importantly, to improve their skills in using this information.  The introduction of ICT capabilities increases the efficiency and attractiveness of the modern educational process.  Emphasizing the importance of expanding students’ worldview, we should not forget the rules of their use.

 Used literature

1. Azamkhanov, B.S.  & Burkhanova, M.M. (2023).  Methods of formation of information competence of students of a higher educational institution.  Scientific-methodological journal of interpretation and research, 1 

 (17), 308-311.  

2. Burkhonova M.M.  CISCO network technology and its role and effectiveness in teaching computer networks.  Internauka.  2020. No. 36 (165).  S.  75-76. 

 3. Djalilov, M. L., Abdullaev, S. S., & Pulatov, G. G. (2016).  Improve the strength of hmac based on one time passwords using sha3 in hmac.  In Sovremennye nauchno-prakticheskie reshenia i podkhody (pp. 42-44).  

4. Kasimakhunova, A. M., Umarova, G. A., & Zokirov, S. I. O. G. L. The role of broad implementation of modeling on the subject of semiconductors in higher education institutions.

  5. Khoitkulov, A. A., & Pulatov, G. G. (2022).  Development of organizational and economic mechanisms to increase the capacity of textile enterprises.  Gospodarka i Innowacje., 23, 142-145.

  6. Latipdjanovich, D. M., Shavkatjonovich, A. S., & Gofurjonovich, P. G. Improve the strength of hmac based one time passwords using sha3 in hmac.  Nauchno-prakticheskie resheniya i podkhody, 2016, 34. 

Eshboyev Oybek Davlat Oglu was born on June 13, 2003, in Bulung’ur district of the Samarkand region.  Currently, he is a 3rd stage student in Jizzakh State Pedagogical University.

Rampant

A dream of flower ridden blossom

The wavering chaos of the river run high

I escaped the drugged wish

Of melancholic numbness around me

The slit throated sky high buildings

Of consumer care and globalized madness

The sip of soma is adjacent

Life’s little brittle mystery of strange alteration

A camphor of village ridden blush

The boat ride of everyday coming port

A slush for the modesty of eavesdropping sickness

Till the city learners the indoors of passion

The burning ghat still flames high

As the coming and going to this world is rampant

As poetic reverie bemused in silence.

The Global Federation of Leadership and High Intelligence, based in Mexico, is creating a Mother’s Day poetry anthology and invites submissions. They are also hosting a video contest for creative work with paper fibers.

Poet and essayist Abigail George, whom we’ve published many times, shares the fundraiser her book’s press has created for her. She’s seeking contributions for office supplies and resources to be able to serve as a speaker and advocate for others who have experienced trauma or deal with mental health issues.

Also, the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem, a store that has the mission of peaceful dialogue and education, invites readers to donate new or gently used books (all genres) that have been meaningful to them, with a note enclosed for future readers about why the books were meaningful. (The books don’t have to be about peace or social justice or the Mideast, although they can be). Please send books here. US-based Interlink Publishing has also started a GoFundMe for the store.

We’re also having a presence at the Hayward Lit Hop festival this year, and we encourage everyone to attend this free, all-ages event! Many local writers will share their work and we will also host an open mic.

This month’s theme is Journeying Inward.

Lidia Popa seeks her true self, believing in the value of her quest. Samira Abdullahi acknowledges her scant resources and the obstacles before her, yet bravely forges ahead towards her life’s goals. Xavier Womack expresses determination to stay free of a relationship that has turned controlling and toxic.

Maurizio Brancaleoni crafts bilingual English/Italian introspective vignettes. Philip Butera reflects on noticing different types of flowers throughout his life, paralleling his different moods. Christina Chin of Malaysia and Paul Callus of Malta collaborate on haiku resplendent with action and sensory detail about the minutiae of human life, highlighting how even smaller thoughts matter.

Charitha Jammala’s mystical poetry probes the depths of the human mind and soul, celebrating our inner essence and integrity. In elegant poetry, Haroon Rashid reminds us to look inward to find joy and peace rather than expecting it from the outside world. Alex S. Johnson revels in the dreamscape of human consciousness in his expansive poem.

Beatriz Saavedra Gastelum probes the power of dreaming to explore human consciousness in Alfonso Reyes’ writing. Christina Chin and Uchechukwu Onyedikam collaborate on haiku capturing the delicacy and deliciousness of creative tension and human spiritual journeys. Fatima Anisa Ibrahim depicts the peace she finds upon sleeping, waking, and beginning a new day.

Stephen Jarrell Williams’ poetic cycle drums up a sense of urgency, evoking human mortality and spiritual quests. Peter Cherches speaks of time and memory, incidents that make us, small puny humans as we are, question all that we remember. Mykyta Ryzhykh renders the dissolution of language and identity through creative poems. Alaina Hammond probes the effect of present experiences to shift memory and identity in her drama, set at an art opening. J.K. Durick’s poems also address identity in a way, pointing out human experiences we face individually, yet share with many around the world.

Philip Butera’s lengthy poem explores existence, seduction, and morality through a lens of mutable personal identity and the archetypes of Greek mythology. Two literary critics, Dr. Selvin Vedamanickam and Grock, explore the struggle of individual people in a world that seems indifferent in Dr. Jernail S. Anand’s epic poem Geet: The Unsung Song of Eternity.

Bhagirath Choudhary’s piece honors and includes the feminine as well as the masculine in what it means to be human, and divine. Jacques Fleury, a Black man from Haiti, asserts his belonging to the universal human family regardless of racial distinctions.

Patrick Sweeney writes disconnected short pieces with an element of whimsy that explore our curiosities and obsessions. Duane Vorhees’ poetry revels in earthy sensuality and explores questions of personal identity, reality, and fantasy.

Kylian Cubilla Gomez’ images focus on fun and imagination in his images of children’s toys. Ochilova Ozoda Zufar shares a children’s story about travel, friendship, and new experiences. Abigail George reflects on her life’s trajectory, how circumstances made her the mother of words rather than human children.

Elan Barnehama’s short story places us back in our early twenties, when many of us were still making major life decisions. Still, many people past that age express similar sentiments. Tagrid Bou Merhi affirms the drive towards personal and artistic freedom. Anna Keiko reflects on how she has followed the call of poetry in her life. Chad Norman’s brash poetry celebrates the freedom to do and say and love as he wishes in his native Canada.

Doug Hawley relates his experiences in the natural vastness of mountainous and lesser-known eastern Oregon. Maja Herman Sekulic’s speakers lay exposed in the city, under the weight of human emotion as much as the heat of the sun and the relentlessness of the rain.

J.J. Campbell conveys regret, despair, and the lingering effects of a broken past. Mark Young’s poetry presents with wry humor dreams pursued and derailed. Susie Gharib’s work reflects the anxiety and discomfort of the human condition and her desire to find and choose peace. John Dorsey’s speakers seek various forms of comfort and stability.

Brian Barbeito reflects on the life and death of his beloved dog, Tessa. Taro Hokkyo’s short poems speak to grief and loss, ending on a note of regrowth.

David Sapp speaks to the lingering psychological impact of physical and mental loss during the American Civil War. Dennis Vannatta’s essay explores the wartime inspirations for some of Chopin’s music and compares that with his own Vietnam experience.

Fadwa Attia reviews Mohamed Sobhi’s new play “Fares Reveals the Hidden” which explores identity, homeland, and belonging. Dr. Kang Byeong-Cheol speaks to loneliness, nostalgia, and empathy.

Atabayeva Gulshan examines loneliness through the lens of Chekhov’s writings. RP Verlaine’s work posits speakers surrounded by maelstroms of feeling, unable to do more than watch. Dr. Kareem Abdullah reviews poet Eva Petropolou Lianou’s work on the power of human emotion and the power of the individual to transcend it.

Nigar Nurulla Khalilova implores deities, and her fellow humans, for compassion towards struggling people. Eva Petropolou Lianou misses human kindness and simple pleasantries of life.

Graciela Noemi Villaverde speaks to the physical coziness of true and long-term love. Isaac Aju writes of first love between a generous young man and a strong young woman who doesn’t feel conventionally feminine. Makhmasalayeva Jasmina Makhmashukurovna encourages love and respect for the wisdom of parents.

Poet Eva Petropolou Lianou reminds us to be kind and show common courtesy. Greek poet Eva Petropolou Lianou interviews Chinese poet Yongbo Ma about writing as a spiritual practice to seek goodness in a harsh world. Elmaya Jabbarova highlights the power of the poet to engage with the senses and cast a vision for the world. Eva Petropolou interviews Egyptian writer Ahmed Farooq Baidoon about his hopes and dreams for the human literary imagination to guide and transform our world, and also Venezuelan poet Mariela Cordero, who celebrates the evolution of literature and the unnoticed acts of kindness around us daily.

Sayani Mukherjee rests within a Romantic poet’s verdant natural dreamscape. Bekmirzayeva Aziza’s tale reminds us not to forget as we grow up that we can find happiness through simple pleasures and days in nature. Maja Milojkovic reminds us to care for the planet, asking us some hard questions in the process. Writer and literary critic Z.I. Mahmud compares Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in its critique of humanity’s quest to micromanage and control nature.

Idris Sheikh looks to the awakening and rebirth of Nigeria from poverty and violence. Joseph Ogbonna mourns the Ottoman Empire’s genocide of the Armenian people. Marjona Bahodirova’s story illustrates the pain and loss many women in Central Asia endure, due to class prejudice and intimate partner violence. Bill Tope’s short story explores the evolution of a formerly open-minded person into a bigot and the long-lasting harm that does to his family and ultimately, himself. Taylor Dibbert recollects an encounter with an aggressive and clueless neighbor as Bill Tope and Doug Hawley’s collaborative short story humorously addresses social misunderstandings accentuated by our society’s prejudices. Patricia Doyne’s poem laments political aggression, power grabs, and the rise of autocracy as Daniel De Culla laments the political danger posed to democracies by a culture of brash ignorance.

Shahnoza Ochildiyeva explores the impact of literature on the lives of characters in Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief. Even though books cannot save them from the Nazis, they consider literature worth the risk of their lives. Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa calls on humanity to seek knowledge and cultural advancement in the pursuit of peace.

Tarane Turan Rahimli speaks to the burgeoning literary scene and cultural heritage of her native Azerbaijan. Alex Johnson’s poem celebrates the enduring literary legacy of Patti Smith and William S. Burroughs and the Beat generation. Malika Abdusamat suggests possibilities for the role of artificial intelligence in language learning. Grock outlines the work and career of Indian poet Dr. Jernail S. Anand and considers his originality and suitability for a Nobel prize.

Christopher Bernard reviews Cal Performances’ production of William Kentridge’s The Great Yes, The Great No, praising the vibrant stagecraft while questioning the value of celebrating the absurd in a time of real political absurdity. Chimezie Ihekuna observes that the world’s ways have become upside-down, strange, and unusual.

Dr. Andrejana Dvornic, in a presentation at the Belgrade Book Festival, explores themes of love, longing, and loneliness in the works of Umid Najjari. Teacher Liu Xingli sends in poetry from the elementary school students of the Xiaohe Poetry Society in China’s Hunan Province, which explores themes of nature and society, love and compassion, and heroism and sacrifice.

Federico Wardal honors the legacy of actor Marcello Mastroianni. Texas Fontanella sends up some vibrant, avant-garde music. Cristina Deptula reviews the anthology White on White: A Literary Tribute to Bauhaus, edited by Alex S. Johnson with a foreword from Poppy S. Brite.

Vernon Frazer plays with splashy words and images. Rizal Tanjung situates the paintings of Anna Keiko in the developing history of world art. Scott Holstad probes Husserl’s philosophical understanding of phenomena and being.

Norman J. Olson evokes the wonderment and curiosity we can experience when we look at art and history. Isabel Gomez de Diego’s photography honors the Spanish heritage of faith and craft. Erkin Vahidov reflects on Uzbekistan’s proud cultural heritage. Toxirova Ruxshona highlights advances in modern world modern medicine in her piece on diagnostics and treatment for a variety of skin diseases.

Bangladeshi writer Mahbub Alam expresses his respect and humility before God in his Ramadan poem. Jake Sheff draws on mythology and history as he memorializes his family members and other figures from the past. Nilufar Anvarova’s poem tells the story of an elder encouraging modern people to remember the past.

Dr. Lalit Mohan Sharma reviews Dr. Jernail Anand Singh’s epic work “From Siege to Salvation,” comparing the battles of the Mahabharata with the siege of Troy and affirming commonalities of our human experience. Cristina Deptula interviews Nigerian poet Uchechukwu Onyedikam about transcending cultural barriers through his international haiku collaborations.

We hope that this issue will draw you out to peek at the world from different cultural and generational vantage points, then pull you inward to consider the value and wonder of your own thoughts and psyche.

Spectator Sport

Been watching from a distance

For a while now. Life does that

To us, makes us spectators

Assigns us back-row seats and

Just leaves us there. There I go

Again restating the obvious, just

Holding it up to look at again, as

If I hadn’t been paying attention.

I like to say “us.” I like to say “we.”

But I don’t really know if I’m here

Alone or with others, the us and we.

The show has been going on for

Quite some time. The players all

Know their parts. The curtains open

And close. The theme music for all

This keeps playing. The audience

If there is one beyond me is getting

Restless. How many more times?

How long does this go on? When

Will the house lights come on, and

I get to finally walk away?

                   Stopping

A stop sign, another piece of our day

A pause on our way getting there or

Getting back from wherever we were.

I like to stop as if I am on a timer, just

A second or two when I’m the only one

In line. I like to come to a complete stop

Like someone fresh from drivers’ ed, stop

Then go, a prescribed measure. I stop to

See if someone is crossing in the cross

Walk just then or a car’s going through or

Turning. If they are I feel that the purpose

For the sign has been served. There are

Reasons for things. Things are put in our

Way because sometimes we need to be

Reminded that other folks are coming or

Going too. We need to be reminded to stop

And admit to our place in things. We are

Just another car filling space, rolling or

Racing on, turning, timing getting where

We are going in a group of others doing

Exactly the same damn thing.

                Of Course

The inevitable is sitting mid-desk

Lined up properly, as you would

Expect. An envelope with a letter

To the effect that the inevitable has

Come this way. At least it’s not

An email or one of those meetings

That was obviously put together at

The last minute, with all your co-

Workers elbow to elbow knowing

That the Inevitable has finally come

To you/to them. You wonder at this

Difference, a letter left conspicuously

Mid-desk top, waiting to tell you what

You know it will. They even spelled

Your name wrong, the way they do so

Often. The misspelling was a joke for

So long, but now it just adds insult to

Injury. You think about waiting to open

The inevitable later, after you’re home

Or sitting in Patty’s, three sheets to

The wind. But no, you’ll open it now.

This is private and immediate. You’ll have

To face alone like this, alone like this.