http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/360/kristina-s-ten Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sat, 13 Jun 2026 03:36:50 -0400 Sat, 13 Jun 2026 03:36:50 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/530/vehicles-for-story-chinua-achebe-and-ngand#361;gand#297;-wa-thiongo-on-defining-african-literature-preserving-culture-and-self By Kristina S. Ten - For example, the average English-speaking American is unlikely to learn an ethnic language from a country thousands of miles away just so he or she can read a book from that country. Writers cannot rely on readers worldwide to cater to one country’s causes. If the writer’s objective is to garner awareness and readership on a large scale, it is his or her responsibility to make the story accessible to the masses. The world is growing evermore cluttered with information; getting attention is a matter of competition. Storytellers must continue to push through the clutter, using any means... Fri, 20 May 2011 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/530/vehicles-for-story-chinua-achebe-and-ngand#361;gand#297;-wa-thiongo-on-defining-african-literature-preserving-culture-and-self http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/397/human-history-and-the-natural-world-in-the-poetry-of-william-carlos-williams-and-yusef-komunyakaa By Kristina S. Ten - Once readers take it the aspects of the work that exist outside the boundaries of a sheet of paper, it may quickly become evident how much one artist may learn, lend, and borrow to another. For poets, then, it is important to recognize the work of past writers and the contributions each have made to the human world and our understanding of each other and one another. It should come as no surprise that certain themes are recurrent through the work of centuries of poets, not only because intellectuals are inevitably influenced by those who came before them, but also because human history itself... Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/397/human-history-and-the-natural-world-in-the-poetry-of-william-carlos-williams-and-yusef-komunyakaa http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/394/contemporary-poetrys-influence-on-cross-cultural-perceptions By Kristina S. Ten - Over time, as people have populated different areas of the world and simultaneously encountered others who are not exactly the same, stereotypes have developed and, whether as a consequence or cause of these judgments, discrimination has emerged as a growing problem worldwide. This issue takes place on a large scale and is all-inclusive and encompassing: no one is safe from some sort of misperception or misunderstanding by someone else from a different background. America, long proudly called “the Melting Pot,” is certainly not exempt from the mistreatment – emotionally if not... Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/394/contemporary-poetrys-influence-on-cross-cultural-perceptions http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/391/thomas-kings-medicine-river-as-associational-literature By Kristina S. Ten - Based on his own definition of the term in “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial,” Thomas King has created a piece of associational literature in his 1989 novel Medicine River. He has done so not only through his focus on daily, seemingly mundane human interactions, but also by alternately focusing on several members of the community past the obvious main characters of Will and, perhaps, Harlen and Louise. King’s choice of calm revelation and believability in his characters’ lives and relationships takes precedence over any sort of climax-based plotline, even and especially within... Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/391/thomas-kings-medicine-river-as-associational-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/389/resistance-in-luci-tapahonsos-a-radiant-curve-the-application-of-european-poetic-form-to-navajo-storytelling By Kristina S. Ten - Elements of defiance in the face of traditionally European ideals and practices are evident throughout Luci Tapahonso’s 2008 A Radiant Curve, most notably in her use of French- and Italian-based forms for many of her poems. Her use of the sestina and villanelle to tell various stories about her family and, on a larger scale, the Navajo people, exhibits the strength of her culture’s storytelling tradition and its ability to resound through any medium. Furthermore, the author’s non-linear structure and integration of the genres of both prose and poetry allow for a well-rounded... Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/389/resistance-in-luci-tapahonsos-a-radiant-curve-the-application-of-european-poetic-form-to-navajo-storytelling http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/386/94-minutes-in-the-badlands-1973 By Kristina S. Ten - If you’re looking for another all-American cross-country love story, you’d be better off browsing movie aisles far, far away from the likes of Badlands. This 1973 title, director Terrence Malick’s debut film, turns the typical teenage romance on its head. First, predictably, boy meets girl. (He is on his way home from a day’s work of garbage-collecting; she, only fifteen, is innocently twirling a baton in her front yard.) Then: boy kills girl’s father, boy and girl run away together, driving from state to flat desert state, multiplying the body count and dodging the... Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:48 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/386/94-minutes-in-the-badlands-1973 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/382/human-constructions-and-changing-perceptions-in-w-g-sebalds-the-rings-of-saturn By Kristina S. Ten - High school science textbooks are quick to point out that virtually everything in existence today was at some point formed by the intense heat, pressure and combustion of past stars. All the elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are formed in stars and, during supernova explosions, disperse throughout space. The heavier elements go into forming new planets that surround newly formed stars. If new life happens to form on these planets, it does so using preexisting materials like iron, calcium and carbon: the same elements found in our blood, bones and DNA. Science teachers will usually end... Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:02 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/382/human-constructions-and-changing-perceptions-in-w-g-sebalds-the-rings-of-saturn http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/379/primo-levis-use-of-poetic-language-to-promote-cross-cultural-understanding-in-survival-in-auschwitz By Kristina S. Ten - Though the Holocaust ended nearly a lifetime ago, the systematic extermination of two- thirds of Europe’s Jewish population has left immutable memories that continue to manifest themselves within each new generation of citizens worldwide. The subject itself remains taboo in many circles, surpassing lines of faith and race alike in both its inability to be justified and the terrifying likelihood of its reoccurrence. In Caren S. Neile’s “Poetry after Auschwitz,” the author asks: “Again and again the expression ‘unspeakable horror’ appears in discussions... Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:18 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/379/primo-levis-use-of-poetic-language-to-promote-cross-cultural-understanding-in-survival-in-auschwitz