Caucasus Journal of Milton Studies

Editor’s Note - We are pleased to have several new contributors to this issue. Shorena Lekaidze is a recent graduate of the International Black Sea University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Philology. She has written an insightful paper analyzing the differences in how male and female authors create their female protagonists in modernist literature. Her fellow graduate from the International Black Sea University, Natia Samadashvili, also has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Philology. She gives us an article that delves deeply into the evils of colonialism. This month Professor Edward Raupp has given us two contributions. The first is an article that offers a fresh interpretation of John Milton’s Sonnet 19. Most often, the focus of scholars is “On his blindness,” but Professor Raupp takes an alternative approach to the sonnet. In addition, we have a new feature: the beginning of a serial presentation of an epic poem the Professor has written about Ares, the God of War. Ares: A Poem follows Milton’s style in Paradise Lost consisting of 12 books of blank verse. In this month’s issue, we present the Preface and Book One: Ares Antecedent, a narrative before the Olympian gods, before the birth of the God of War, when the seeds of war were already in the cosmos. Inevitably, we can expect the voice of the narrator to reflect the author’s own military background in times of war and peace. The illustrations are by two talented Georgian friends, Salome and Mariam Bekauri. In our Translation section, we also have something new: Professor George Shaduri, who teaches American Literature at the International Black Sea University in Tbilisi, and is also a talented musician, has translated into Georgian the lyrics of a rock ‘n’ roll song, Back To Memphis, which captures the American spirit of the 1960s. We are pleased to continue our presentation of poetry which was submitted in a competition sponsored by the Milton Society of Africa. Zaynah Ibrahim Barje is a young Nigerian who finds inspiration in writing and has a strong belief that her writing will inspire others and serve as a great tool for change. Abuchi Onyema, also from Nigeria, is a prolific author and poet who writes with great passion about the conditions in his native country.

Thank you all for your contributions!

Warm regards,
Danna Raupp
Editor-in-Chief