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The Midwest Quarterly: A Journal of Contemporary Thought

Contents

ARTICLES

Dimensions of Postmodern Culture

Celebrating Two Hundred Years of the Constitution: The Madison/Jefferson Legacy

The Possibilities of Creativity: Nicholas Berdyaev and Robert Bly

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Play Theory, and the Critic's Job of Work

Marketing the Allies to America

Facing Death: Perspectives from Communal Societies

POEMS

This Windy Morning

Norway Maples at the Reflecting Pool

Flowers

Another Way

To the Stone

I-70

The Whole Code Is Everywhere

Jeremiah

How the News Repeats Itself

Where Are the Brave

Greeting Cards

Spider In the Wind

The Bathers

Blue Com

Rain

Halo

Desire

REVIEW

Dan Jaffee; Seasons of the River

Abstract

in this issue. . .

JOHN W. MURPHY describes the discontents and contentions of postmodernism in assessing the world of today, be it science, religion, or other institutions in society, and suggests modernism's emphasis on order may exact a higher price than the imprecision of postmodernism. Currently Associate Professor of Sociology at Arkansas State University, Murphy has, in addition to numerous articles, published The Social Philosophy of Martin Buber, The Underside of High-tech, and Technology and Human Productivity.

Americans should celebrate their Constitution's two-hundredth anniversary by considering changes in the fundamental law, not simply by congratulating themselves on its longevity or by worshipping a paper idol, argues JAMES F. LEA. Author of Political Consciousness and American Democracy and editor of Contemporary Southern Politics: Continuity and Change out this year, Lea is Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern Mississippi and a specialist on presidential politics, political culture and socialization, constitutional law, and southern politics.

ROBERT M. RANDOLPH attempts to understand the writings of poet Robert Bly in terms set forth by writer Nicholas Berdyaev: that fashioning creative works risks betrayal and failure if improperly conceived and received. On the faculty of the Department of English at Southwest Texas State University, Randolph has pursued his interests in literature and religion to a doctorate in English and a recent M.A. in Theology. A poet, Randolph is now working on an approach to literature drawn from process theology.

BERT ALMON of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, has published poetry in Beloit Poetry Journal, Iowa Review, New Letters, and other magazines. "This Windy Morning," the poem in this issue, will be read over the radio on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Mr. Almon' s work has appeared previously in Midwest Quarterly.

STEPHEN C. BEHRENDT, besides scholarly works including one book on Blake and Milton, has published poetry in Prairie Schooner, Kansas Quarterly, and South Carolina Review. He is currently an English professor at the University of Nebraska.

MARK CHRISTHILF’s poetry appears currently or will soon appear in Kansas Quarterly and Yale Literary Magazine. He lives in Charleston, Illinois.

MYRON ERNST and his wife own and direct a Montessori school in Vestal, New York. His poems have appeared in Midstream, Laurel Review, Colorado-North Review, and other magazines.

ROBERT FUNGE of San Carlos, California, was co-recipient with Simon Perchik of the 1986 South Dakota Review Poetry Award. His work has appeared recently in Chariton Review, Hollins Critic, New York Quarterly, and other journals.

CHRISTOPHER D. GUERIN is general manager of the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Philharmonic. His poems have been published in riverrun, Wind, RE:AL, and other literary magazines.

SALLY HERRIN of Lincoln, Nebraska, is currently senior poetry reader for Prairie Schooner, and fulltime mama. She has taught creative writing at two universities and two Nebraska correctional facilities. Her poetry has appeared in Pebble, Northern Light, and Wind, among other journals.

DIONISIO D. MARTÍNEZ lives in Tampa, Florida, with his rose garden, his record collection, and a Matisse print worn from much looking. He is close friends with many telephone answering machines. His poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Iowa Review, Southern Poetry Review, and other magazines.

RICH MURPHY teaches writing at Bradford College in Massachusetts. His work has appeared recently in Grand Street, Kansas Quarterly, New Letters, and other journals.

ANNE OHMAN-YOUNGS teaches English at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, and is an associate editor of Passages North. Her poems have appeared in a variety of literary magazines, including Ball State University Forum and Tar River Poetry.

KENNETH POBO of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, has published work in Cumberland Poetry Review, MSS, Montana Review, and other magazines.

GREGORY A. RYAN, who is working on his master's degree in English at Columbia University, has published poetry and short fiction in many journals, including Central Park, Sepia, and Soundings East. He has published poetry previously in Midwest Quarterly.

DIANE MOON SAUTTER teaches writing at Saginaw Valley State College. Her work has appeared in Passages North, Orphic Lute, Earth's Daughters, and other journals. She collaborated with her husband on a science fiction story which appeared in MS. magazine in 1982.

KENNETH SHAFFER works as caretaker of a large estate near Joelton, Tennessee. His poetry has appeared in several magazines, including Hogshead Review and Coe Review. His work has also appeared previously in Midwest Quarterly.

WILLIAM WINFIELD works as a textbook editor for Macmillan in New York. His poetry has appeared in many magazines, including Indiana Review, Abraxas, and Poetry Now.

SANFORD PINSKER explores the element of play involved in Mark Twain's imagination of Tom Sawyer and his literary world. Author of scholarly books on modern prose and poetry and of works of his own creation, Pinsker is Professor of English at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His most recent contributions are Three Poets of the Pacific Northwest: William Stafford, Richard Hugo, and David Wagoner, and The Uncompromising Fictions of Cynthia Ozick.

DAVID LLOYD JONES assesses the many ways employed by the administration of Franklin Roosevelt to sell the Allies to the American public. Professor of History and Political Science at Alfred State College in New York, Jones has published many articles on the local history of Wellsville, New York, and has a previous article in the Midwest Quarterly on “Media in Wartime."

As contemporary Americans search for ways to understand and cope with death, SUSAN MATARESE and PAUL SALMON suggest the examples provided by the Shakers and other communal societies offer important insights. Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville, Matarese has published a number of articles on fictional and experimental utopias. She is the past President of the National Historic Communal Societies Association. Salmon, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the same institution, in addition to a recent textbook on abnormal psychology, has authored a number of articles exploring the psychological dynamics of utopian communities.

JO MCDOUGALL is Visiting Assistant Professor of Poetry at Pittsburg State University where she teaches English and creative writing. She has taught at the University of Arkansas and Northeastern Louisiana University. Her most recent collection of poems, The Woman in the Next Booth, was published by BkMk Press in September.

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