modcasters

Skin-Crawling Tension: The Writing Styles of Poe and Lovecraft

Black and white scribble art depicting a hand holding a calligraphy pen, scratching on a sheet of paper. Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/735634920356474407/

It is no secret that H.P. Lovecraft greatly admired Edgar Allan Poe. Once, H.P. Lovecraft even identified Poe as a strong influence on his writing, saying, “When I write stories, Edgar Allan Poe is my model” (The H.P. Lovecraft Archive). With a quick read through each author’s works, that influence is clear as both PoeContinue reading “Skin-Crawling Tension: The Writing Styles of Poe and Lovecraft”

Opinion: Fairness cannot exist without justice

A minimalist pastel-colored illustration depicting 4 figures on a see-saw. Two large persons stand on the left side, and two smaller persons stand on the right. To ensure the seesaw is level, the two on the right stand on boxes. Centered above them is a yellow circle with an equal sign inside.

According to John Rawls’ argument for justice as fairness, it is clear that the government of the United States is perpetuating an UNJUST system, as not everyone has an equal opportunity to create the rules.

POC Writers & Award Winners

The two pieces that I chose to do my analysis on were the first paragraphs from two different POC novels. I choose to use these pieces because they set the scene for the two novels Paradise, by Toni Morrison, and The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. Coincidentally, before I decided to use theseContinue reading “POC Writers & Award Winners”

The Concept Lies in the Subtleties

A clipart drawing of three stacked books. Top is green with a red heart on the spine, middle is yellow with spine facing away from viewer, and bottom is blue with a pink heart on the spine.

A sonnet from Shakespeare’s original Romeo and Juliet and a translated version will be used to analyze the function of affixes and how they are used to create new meanings and alter the context of the play. By looking closely at how affixes are used within the framework of the sonnet, we can then concludeContinue reading “The Concept Lies in the Subtleties”

Manipulating Verbs: Active and Passive Constructs in Fiction

Throughout this past semester, I became interested in the difference between active and passive voice and how they can determine the tone of fictional writing. Due to this interest, I decided to take one paragraph from Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor and one paragraph from White TigerContinue reading “Manipulating Verbs: Active and Passive Constructs in Fiction”

On My Bookshelf: Community Recs No. 5

Book cover featuring a smiling brown woman with brown curly hair. She is wearing a red swimsuit and posing with her head tilted back, her elbow resting on a bent knee. Title: Rolling the R's. A novel by R. Zamora Linmark.

This book is very significant and important to our modern culture. An anthology of writings I read at the University of Hawaii is called Rolling the R’s by R. Zamora Linmark. It is also in anthology style that follows the same plot with different chapters written in different ways. Some chapters are poems, some are dialogue, andContinue reading “On My Bookshelf: Community Recs No. 5”

Opinion: Fanfiction Is the Great Pathway into Writing

Drawing of an open book with lines representing text on the facing pages. 5 writing utensils are standing with their points on the pages. From left to right: a red ballpoint pen, a red calligraphy pen, a gray drawing pen, a blue highlighter, and a red pencil. Source: https://howtowritefanfiction.com/

Especially for young readers and writers, fanfiction can be a great way to develop writing skills, find and build a sense of community, and foster a love for both reading and writing.

Leigh Ann’s Recs No. 3 – Efrén Divided

Book cover. The top half of the book depicts a boy wearing an orange shirt walking past a white fence, glancing down. The lower half of the book shows the shadows of the fence, but it becomes a barbed-wire laced border fence. Upside down is the boy, reaching his hands through the slats of the fence to hold the hands of his mother, who is on the other side.

This book is dedicated to all immigrant families who continue to be cruelly separated and, especially, all the brave children who are forced to live this story.

Film Review: The Color of Fear (1994)

The cover, in black and white, for the film. Four shirtless men are standing closely together. In the foregrounded left is an Asian man facing the Black man on the right, who is looking straight back. Behind them, both looking at the viewer, are a white man (left) and a Latino man (right). Bottom left text: a film by Lee Mun Wah. Bottom right text: The Color of Fear 1.

Over the last year I’ve been trying to double down on myself, making an effort to unlearn racist practices, to become a true anti-racist. How could I not? How could anyone not? I’ll leave it at those two questions (for now). With all the resources and information we have out there, particularly reading materials—this isContinue reading “Film Review: The Color of Fear (1994)”

On My Bookshelf: Community Recs No. 4

A Woman in Charge by Carl Bernstein In A Woman in Charge, Carl Bernstein gives us a portrait of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s unique life from her early college years, to Yale Law School where she meets and falls in love with Bill Clinton, to her life in Arkansas, to her role as First Lady, intoContinue reading “On My Bookshelf: Community Recs No. 4”