The Midwest Quarterly; Vol. 38 No. 2

Authors

• Donald Wayne Viney
• John E. Atwell
• Matthew K. Samra
• John Howard Wilson
• Avise Nissen
• Janice L. Nerger
• Wayne Viney
• Robert G. Riedel II
• William Aiken
• Michael Carey
• Philip Dacey
• Ivy Dempsey
• Constance Egemo
• Ted Genoways
• Nickie J. Gunstrom
• Gray Jacobik
• Nicole Orr
• Jack Martin
• Michael Pegausch
• Barry Sternlieb
• Steve Wilson
• Bonnie Young
• Charles Cagle
• Richard Holinger
• Midwest Quarterly Editors

Contents

ARTICLES 

The Humor of Jesus of Nazareth  

Schopenhauer on Women, Men, and Sexual Love  

Shadow and Substance: The Two Narratives of Sojourner Truth 

"Gross Dichotomizing" in the Work of Paul Fussell 

The Writing of Mnemonics and the Value of Nonsense  

Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness: Use and Misuse 

POEMS 

Springtime in the 90's  

The Field  

The Elephants Teach  

Turntables 

Beyond Doors  

Wolf 

Nuit Blanche  

What I Call Mine  

The Cats on the Hill  

Possible Occasions of a Shimmering of Light  

Leagues and Years 

Language 

Cigarette # 17 

Coming of Age 

A Life of Her Own 

The Seamstress 

REVIEWS 

D. G. Myers; The Elephants Teach 

Anne Carson; Plainwater 

Abstract

DONALD WAYNE VINEY offers convincing examples that far from being the dour, unsmiling figure often presented of Christ, He exhibited a full range of emotions, including humor upon occasion. Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pittsburg State University, Viney is author of Charles Hartshorne and the Existence of God (1985), A Philosopher Looks at the Bible (1992), and several articles in the philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He is also a member of Midwest Quarterly's Board of Editors.

JOHN E. ATWELL examines the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer and finds his views on women more complex than the common portrayal of the philosopher as the poster-boy of misogynism. Professor of Philosophy at Temple University, Atwell is author of Ends and Principles in Kant's Moral Thought (1986) and Schopenhauer: The Human Character (1990). He is presently working on a book discussing Schopenhauer's metaphysics of will.

MATTHEW K. SAMRA looks behind the printed narrative of Sojourner Truth's life to find the real person, the black woman, obscured by both the printed words and the public persona she manifested to make her way financially in white America. Samra teaches writing at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan. This is his first published scholarly essay.

JOHN HOWARD WILSON suggests the real value of Paul Fussell's writing is not what his proponents and detractors have seen in his trenchant works, but in his connection of historical events and cultural change, his ability to see what others have not seen or will not see given their position in society. Professor of English at Dakota Wesleyan University, Wilson has published a number of articles and a book, Growing Up, Growing Apart: Evelyn Waugh When Young, in 1995.

WILLIAM AIKEN works for low-cost housing projects in Appalachian Virginia. He has published recent poems in Iowa Review, Poetry, Blue Unicorn, Poetry Northwest, Nimrod, and other journals. He lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.

MICHAEL CAREY farms near Farragut in southwest Iowa. He has published three books of poetry: The Noise the Earth Makes, Honest Effort, and Nichnabotna. His poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Iowa Review, Nimrod, Laurel Review, and others. He is also cofounder and editor of Loess Hills Books. His poems have appeared previously in The Midwest Quarterly.

PHILIP DACEY, Lynd, Minnesota, has his sixth book of poetry, The Deathbed Playboy, coming out in fall, 1997, from Eastern Washington University Press. His work has appeared previously in The Midwest Quarterly.

IVY DEMPSEY has published poems recently in Southern Poetry Review, Chariton Review, Plainsong, Nimrod, and other journals. She will also have work in the anthology, Marilyn, My Marilyn (Pennywhistle Press). She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

CONSTANCE EGEMO, Ames, Iowa, began her professional life as a registered nurse before she turned to poetry. She has published her work in American Scholar, Yankee, Negative Capability, and other journals. Her work has appeared previously in The Midwest Quarterly.

TED GENOWAYS, Lincoln, Nebraska, has published a chapbook of poetry, The Dead Have a Way of Returning (Brooding Heron Press). His poems have appeared recently in DoubleTake, New Letters, and Witness. His poems have appeared previously in The Midwest Quarterly.

NICKIE J. GUNSTROM lives in Reno, Nevada. Her poems have appeared recently in North Stone Review, Barnabe Mountain Review, and The Plastic Tower. Her work has appeared previously in The Midwest Quarterly.

GRAY JACOBIK has published poems recently in Prairie Schooner, Laurel Review, CrazyQuilt, and other journals. He lives in Pomfret Center, Connecticut.

JACK MARTIN, Ft. Collins, teaches middle school in Jefferson County, Colorado. His poems have appeared in AGNI, Fine Madness, Sonora Review, and other journals.

NICOLE ORR studied literature at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. Her poetry as a student earned a Missouri gubernatorial award. She lives in Antelope, California.

MICHAEL B. PEGAUSCH, Lawrenceville, Georgia, has published poems recently in New York Quarterly, Connecticut Review, and High Plains Literary Review. He also coordinates a poetry and music performance group called The Guerilla Ontologists.

BARRY STERNLIEB has published poetry in numerous journals, including

Poetry, Poetry Northwest, Prairie Schooner, Kansas Quarterly, Chariton Review, and others. His most recent book of poems is Thoreau's Hat (Brooding Heron Press, 1994). He is also editor of Mad River Press which specializes in hand-set letterpress chapbook and prints. His work has appeared previously in The Midwest Quarterly. He lives in Richmond, Massachusetts.

STEVE WILSON has published recent work in New American Writing, Literary Review, and Steava (in Romanian translation). He was a recent Fulbright lecturer in Creative Writing in Romania. His work has appeared frequently in The Midwest Quarterly. He lives in San Marcos, Texas.

BONNIE YOUNG, Arroyo Grande, California, has been an elementary school teacher most of her life. She has six children and three grandchildren. Her poems have appeared in Poet & Critic (now Flyway).

AVISE NISSEN goes beyond her nominal beginning--asking her students to devise mnemonics for the nine Greek muses and the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac--to consider the role of verbal structure in remembering the past and makes the case for mnemonics having a place, along with proverbs and myths, in the continuity of knowledge. Nissen taught Freshman Composition for fifteen years at the University of South Florida, the University of Iowa, and George Washington University, and she also teaches Comedy and the Literature of Ecology and reviews books for the Eco-Socialist Review. She is currently at work on a study of the figure of Pope Joan as she appears in comic literature.

While student ratings of faculty have occupied an increasingly conspicuous role in tenure, promotion, and salary decisions, JANICE L. NERGER, WAYNE VINEY, and ROBERT G. RIEDEL II suggest instead that the importance to the outcome of several factors extraneous to the teaching-learning process bring their validity into serious doubt. Instead the authors propose an individualized approach to instructor evaluation which permits faculty and administrators to study instructional performance over time, a method the authors contend is the most legitimate use of student ratings. Nerger, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University, teaches a course on the Psychology of Learning and has won the College of Natural Sciences Faculty Undergraduate Teaching Award. Her primary research interest is in human color vision. Viney, a Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University, teaches courses in the History and Systems of Psychology and has won the Oliver Pennock Award for Outstanding Teaching. His primary research interest is in the history of American psychology. Riedel is currently an Instructor in Psychology at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota. His primary research interest is in psychology and law.

CHARLES CAGLE, an award-winning creative writer in the Department of English at Pittsburg State University, has participated in efforts to restore the Stilwell Hotel in Pittsburg. His lecture on the life of Arthur Stilwell, given to the Stilwell Heritage and Educational Foundation, has been printed and used to raise funds for the project.

RICHARD HOLINGER teaches writing at Marmion Academy in Aurora, Illinois. His Ph.D. is from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His current project is a book of short fiction to be titled "Chicago Sampler."

Permissions to Use

In accordance with database agreements, the full text of the issue is not available for download. Pittsburg State Digital Commons has only provided the front matter for author and publication information.

Recommended Citation

Viney, Donald Wayne; Atwell, John E.; Samra, Matthew K.; Wilson, John Howard; Nissen, Avise; Nerger, Janice L.; Viney, Wayne; Riedel, Robert G. II; Aiken, William; Carey, Michael; Dacey, Philip; Dempsey, Ivy; Egemo, Constance; Genoways, Ted; Gunstrom, Nickie J.; Jacobik, Gray; Orr, Nicole; Martin, Jack; Pegausch, Michael; Sternlieb, Barry; Wilson, Steve; Young, Bonnie; Cagle, Charles; Holinger, Richard; and Midwest Quarterly Editors (1997) "The Midwest Quarterly; Vol. 38 No. 2," The Midwest Quarterly: A Journal of Contemporary Thought: Vol. 38: Iss. 2, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/mwq/vol38/iss2/1