Archives

  • March 2022 CJMS
    Vol. 1 No. 1

    Welcome to the Premier Edition of the Caucasus Journal of Milton Studies e-ISSN:2720-8222 (online).

    We are delighted to have received such a varied and interesting number of submissions. The editorial team has enjoyed the challenge of reviewing each article submitted and is pleased to present the works to our readers.

    We hope this Journal will inspire others to research and write on topics of their choice. Remember that any writing that will foster the development of interest in English language and literature will be welcome.

    Danna Raupp
    Editor-in-Chief

  • June 2022 CJMS
    Vol. 1 No. 2

    Spring has arrived in the beautiful South Caucasus, and along with the flowers have come some new writing for this second issue of the Caucasus Journal of Milton Studies. The Journal aims to encourage writers at all levels to share their work in a free and open medium. Authors do not pay to have their work published, and readers do not pay to read it.

    Three academic articles are included in this issue. Edward Raupp shows the connection of John Milton, writing in the 17th century, to the poets of the 18th century Romantic Movement. Master’s Degree student Tinatin Shengelia offers a glimpse into the dynamics of literary learning in an innovative research project involving the exposure of young people in a small Georgian village to Boccaccio’s Decameron. Tinatin Sikharulidze, a Ph.D. candidate, presents a commentary on collection of Byronic poems translated by Innes Merabishvili and others.

    Eter Churadze continues her campaign to bring together the poetry of two languages to demonstrate the beauty of each to the wider world. Nino Kvitsinadze brings us a powerful poem of love and longing from contemporary Georgian writer Davit Darbaidze.

    Salome and Mariam Bekauri paint vividly three scenes based on Milton’s Samson Agonistes, considered by some to be the greatest English drama based on the Greek model and known as a closet tragedy, one more suited for reading than performance.

    Young teenager Ana Manvelishvili turns Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet from tragedy to comedy with a twist of the ending in her very short story. What a joy to see the creative work of our youth, and what a privilege it is to share their work in the Journal.

    In a stunning piece of modern prose poetry, Nino Pepanashvili gives us “A Satellite.” If modern poetry suffers from a lack of distinction, we have here an antidote. This poem is honest to its core. The language is striking. And the story is gripping. We are so pleased to have the opportunity to introduce this poem to a world in such need of beauty and integrity.

    As a service to our readers, we offer a list of online accessible websites for poetry and for research purposes in the hope that these resources may prove helpful.

    Finally, we’re pleased to announce that Caucasus Journal of Milton Studies has been admitted to membership in the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ). Also, in line with professional standards, we have adopted an Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement, which can be found at  https://cjojms.com/index.php/research/ethics-malpractice-statement.

    Best wishes to all our contributors and readers,

    Danna Raupp
    Editor in Chief
    June 2022

  • September 2022 CJMS
    Vol. 1 No. 3

    My rose garden may be fading, but not the writing talents of our contributors. In this issue, Professor Edward Raupp, our Milton Scholar, gives us a Master Class in teaching John Milton’s Pastoral Elegy, “Lycidas.” It is our pleasure to present a work by a first year Master’s Degree student in Anglistics at Gori State University. For an assignment in her Shakespeare class, Anano Makhashvili chose to research the subject of Revenge in Titus Andronicus, surely one of The Bard’s bloodiest plays. It is the goal of this Journal to encourage people to write in English and we hope Anano will continue to be a contributor. Eter Churadze has given us the translation of a trio of “miniatures” by poet Niko Lortkipanidze. He has written a number of these lovely vignettes and we plan to offer more of them in future issues. In our STUDENTS section we have a paper by a second-course student in the Bachelor’s Degree program in English Philology at Gori State University. Keti Kanashvili was a participant in the first Critical Thinking course given at the university, in which students were asked to write a research paper in English. This is an extremely difficult task for non-native English speakers and we appreciated that Keti took on this challenge with enthusiasm. We are pleased to report that our Society, inspired by the Milton Society of America, has helped to inspire the foundation of the Milton Society of Africa! We have provided them with a Letter of Support, and also made a contribution of $200 which will make our Society the sponsors for a Milton Conference and the prizes for a poetry competition. Please see the End Notes for a Letter of Appreciation and a message from their Society President, Wole Adedoyin at email woleadedoyin@gmail.com

    We hope you will enjoy our efforts and will consider becoming a contributor.

    Best Regards,
    Danna Raupp
    Editor in Chief

  • December 2022 CJMS
    Vol. 1 No. 4

    In this issue, Professor Edward Raupp gives us a comprehensive, annotated chronology of the times during which John Milton lived. We share the belief that when a reader has some background knowledge of the life and times of an author it facilitates and enriches his or her understanding of any piece of literature. Eter Churadze addresses the complex process of translating a 20th-century author, Ernest Hemingway, from English to Georgian. Eter also gives us the English translation of two more miniatures of poet Niko Lortkipanidze. Nino Kvitsinadze makes translation history by bringing the critically important letter of John Milton, Of Education, out of English into the Georgian language. This is a remarkable accomplishment, as there is nowhere to be found in Milton scholarship such a translation of the work into Georgian. In our poetry section, we have another narrative poem from Nino Pepanishvili, a Georgian transplanted to New York City, reflecting on her eight years in that magical city.

    This is the final issue of our inaugural year. We hope you will enjoy it and consider being a contributor in  2023.

    Warm regards,
    Danna Raupp
    Editor-in-Chief

  • March 2023 CJMS
    Vol. 2 No. 1

    As we begin our second year of publication, we are delighted to have two new contributors to this first issue. Kailai Zhong, a young student from China, has written an inciteful paper on John Milton’s references to Chaos in Paradise Lost. And in our Poetry section, Peter Mitchell, a social activist from the United States, gives us several reflections on his spiritual journey. Professor Edward Raupp, prompted by his special interest in Milton’s Lycidas, has written a comprehensive review of the pastoral elegy in not just literature, but also painting and music. Eter Churadze has translated two more of Niko Lortkipanidze’s miniatures, plus a small poem by Giorgi Leonidze. We appreciate Edward’s and Eter’s devoted contributions to our journal. We also include some lovely artwork of Ikebana arrangements by Nino Pepanishvili

    I hope you will find our offerings stimulating and that they may encourage you to join the ranks of our contributors.

    Warm regards,
    Danna Raupp
    Editor-in-Chief

     

  • June 2023 CJMS
    Vol. 2 No. 2

    Editor’s Note - Welcome to the second issue of our second year: how time flies! It is with pleasure that we present three articles by second year Master’s Degree students in Anglistics at Gori State University. These young women are exceptional students in that they are the first Master’s candidates to choose to write their theses in English, rather than Georgian. This is a first for this university and we are proud of them for taking on such a challenge. Eter Churadze gives us English translations of two final miniatures from Niko Lortkipanidze, plus a short poem by Paolo Iashvili. We welcome a new contributor to this issue in our translation section, Lela Ebralidze. The American poet, Edgar Allen Poe, is a subject of her scientific research, and it is a pleasure to publish her translation into Georgian of one of his best-known works, Annabelle Lee. We include a contribution in our poetry section which was an entry to a competition held by the Milton Society of Africa (inspired by our own Milton Society of Georgia). Michael Chukwudi is a Nigerian-Indonesian-based author whose poem, DENIAL, addresses the unhealthy events in Nigeria, where injustice is now the order of the day. The poem is a call to restore justice, to shun the evils occurring in his native country. Thank you all, each one of you enriches our Journal!

    Warm regards,
    Danna Raupp

    Editor-in-Chief

  • September 2023 CJMS
    Vol. 2 No. 3

    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