Challenge 704

What’s in an Unname?

1. In Jeremy Luke Hill’s “Neve”:

   1. How does Jack view Neve? As welcome? As an intruder? With indifference?
   2. Neve promises to return. How do you think her and Jack’s relationship will play out? Does Jack have any decisions to make?

2. In Charles C. Cole’s “A Boy and His Kite”:

   1. What is the function of the boy’s father in the story?
   2. Children’s art is checked to see whether it proceeds in almost prescribed stages. What do the observers miss?

3. In Shola Balogun’s “Twilight Tales,” what is the setting? Who are the “preachers of salvation”? What do they seem to do, exactly?

4. In Douglas Young’s “Port Arthur Pearl”:

   1. Where is Port Arthur?
   2. The poem is a kind of elegy to a popular singer. What does the poem gain or lose by not naming her?

5. In Stephen Ellams’ “After You’re Gone”:

   1. Is the poem addressed to somone who is alive or dead?
   2. Does Keats’ “Eve of St. Agnes” resemble the poem in any way? Does the erudite reference make Keats’ and the author’s poems mutual footnotes?

6. In Rudolfo Serna’s “The Locust Farmer and the Green Children”:

   1. The “capital” is referred to a number of times. What seems to be its function in the narrative? Is it needed?
   2. Are the locusts native to the planet or are they the product of genetic engineering?
   3. Is the function of the Surgeon General and the townspeople’s persecution of the “green children” at all implausible? Why or why not?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © February 27, 2017 by Bewildering Stories
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