DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Julia interviews Tauya Forst, J.D., Associate Professor of Justice Studies, and Dr. Dennis Emano, Professor and Student Mental Health Counselor, about the impact of George Floyd’s death, the implications of it, the 846 movement, and the need for difficult conversations

Forst, Tauya

Emano, Dennis

diLiberti, Julia

Episode 15: George Floyd, 846, and Necessary Conversations

Maren McKellin interviews Dr. Julia diLiberti, Professor of Humanities, and Adam Fotos, Assistant Professor of Humanities, about the role cartoons and comics play in the global pandemic

Fotos, Adam

McKellin, Maren

Episode 10: Comics, Cartoons and COVID-19

Houghten, Amber

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 1 
Spring 5-1-2020 
Front Cover - "Ultraviolence" 
Amber Houghten 
College of DuPage 
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Recommended Citation 
Houghten, Amber (2020) "Front Cover - "Ultraviolence"," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 1. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/1 
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has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
1Houghten: Front Cover - "Ultraviolence"
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2020


English

Front Cover -  Ultraviolence

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 8 
Spring 5-1-2020 
Table of Contents 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
(2020) "Table of Contents," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 8. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/8 
This Prefatory Note is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at 
DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of 
DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Table of Contents
Ganesha ....................................................................... 1
About ............................................................................ 2
Editorial   Team............................................................... 3
Ultraviolence................................................................ 3
Editor’s Note.................................................................. 6
Color Key....................................................................... 6
Nerve Pizza.....................................................................7
From the Ground Up .................................................... 8
*Doubt ........................................................................... 9
*The Bridge ................................................................. 10
On the Edge of  the Universe..................................... 13
On a Summer’s day.................................................... 14
The Shell..................................................................... 14
The Long Way Home.................................................. 15
Transitioning: A Birth Story....................................... 16
Gender Specific ........................................................... 17
The Body of a Storm ................................................. 18
A Thousand Icaruses ................................................ 18
Resurrection .............................................................. 19
*Mosquito Bites ......................................................... 20
Trailer Park Incident ................................................. 21
Red ............................................................................. 22
Perfect Strangers ....................................................... 23
Endurance ................................................................. 24
Mt. Taal ...................................................................... 25
Automatic King Kong ............................................... 26
The Lost Episode ...................................................... 27
The Unwanted Treasure .......................................... 28
Possibilities ................................................................ 29
Frantic Milk ............................................................... 32
Pointy Pointy!!! ...........................................................33
Uncomfortably Aware ............................................... 34
Dancing Light ............................................................. 35
*Content Warning
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Frida ........................................................................... 36
The Land Screams .................................................... 37
Beneath the Frozen Shroud ..................................... 38
When Creeks Run Again .......................................... 38
Living Water .............................................................. 39
Bed of Soil .................................................................. 40
A Hunting Horn ........................................................ 41
Reflections Upon a Strange Notion ........................ 42
Walk in the Park ........................................................ 43
In the Hospital .......................................................... 44
Squatter’s Guide to Empire ........................................ 45
Purple and Blue Star Handlebars ........................... 48
A Letter to All of my Almost Forever But Inevitably    
    Temporary Lovers ................................................. 49
The Pipe and Board .................................................. 50
Dance Violin .............................................................. 51
Van Gogh’s Bedroom Remastered ........................... 51
Floating Away ............................................................ 52
Serial Apologetic ....................................................... 55
The Gift ...................................................................... 56
Untitled ...................................................................... 59
Tragic Routine ........................................................... 60
Black Eyed Susan Sunset Knoll .............................. 63
Burial .......................................................................... 64
The Broken Girl’s Blood ........................................... 66
In Silence ................................................................... 69
66 ................................................................................ 70
Prologue to Sunrise .................................................. 71
318 Sangamon Street ............................................... 72
Do the Wave .............................................................. 73
Express Train ............................................................ 74
A Delicacy in Time ................................................... 75
Gratitude and Colophon .......................................... 76
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The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 42, No. 2 [2020], Art. 8
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/8


Zilius, Eleanor

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 9 
Spring 5-1-2020 
Editor's Note 
Eleanor Zilius 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Zilius, Eleanor (2020) "Editor's Note," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 9. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/9 
This Prefatory Note is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at 
DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of 
DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Editor’s Note
My tenure as editor-in-chief comes to a close. It’s bittersweet completing 
another journal knowing nobody will be able to read it until (at least) the fall. 
I certainly miss weekly editor meetings and in-person literary discussions. 
There is a missing human connection I can’t get from petting my dog or talking 
to my family. Despite my craving for a return to normal, I would not risk my 
family’s safety for anything. The successful production of this journal shows 
that through the tireless dedication of our team we were able to overcome the 
challenges of e-learning. I would like to thank the editorial team for their hard 
work during these difficult times. And finally, I would like to thank all of the 
talented writers and artists who make this journal possible in the first place, 
we couldn’t do it without you.
The works of this edition are organized according to the Dewey Decimal 
System. The Dewey Decimal System separates the categories by asking: what 
questions can be answered with this piece? Philosophy is 100-199, and this is 
where you’ll start and be asked, “who am I?”
As you read, think of PLR as your personal library during a time when you 
can’t go out.
- Eleanor Zilius
Editor-in-Chief
This journal’s pieces and works are organized in the Dewey Decimal System, the
questions they pose, and the thematic connections they have to one another.
This journal is dedicated to the members of the American Library Association and the public libraries 
of America. Without them, we wouldn’t have Index and Order.
Color Key
001-099 Generalities
How do we organize information?
100-199 Philosophy & Psychology 
Who am I? How do I understand myself?
200-299 Religion
How did we get here?
300-399 Social Science
Who are the people around me?
400-499 Language
How can I communicate with the 
people around me?
500-599 Natural Science
How do I explain the world around me?
600-699 Applied Science
How do I control the world around me?
700-799 Arts & Recreations
How do I enjoy my free time?
800-899 Literature
What are the stories of our lives?
900-999 Geography & History
What was the world like before us, and 
what is it like now?
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Zilius: Editor's Note
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Editor\u27s Note

Galli, Dominic

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 28 
Spring 5-1-2020 
Perfect Strangers 
Dominic Galli 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Galli, Dominic (2020) "Perfect Strangers," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 28. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/28 
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Perfect Strangers                                         Dominic Galli
She had a young face but old ankles 
There is always a way to tell 
A way to find the truth
What is the truth
Why does it matter
Does the woman who takes care of her face 
But has overlooked her ankles 
Deserve to be mocked
Just because she forgot
To wear high socks
I hope strangers are kinder to me
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Galli: Perfect Strangers
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Perfect Strangers

King, Eileen

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 36 
Spring 5-1-2020 
pointy pointy!!! 
Eileen King 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
King, Eileen (2020) "pointy pointy!!!," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 36. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/36 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
pointy pointy!!!                                                 Eileen King
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King: pointy pointy!!!
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pointy pointy!!!

McInerney, Michael

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 42 Number 2 Article 41 
Spring 5-1-2020 
Beneath The Frozen Shroud 
Michael McInerney 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
McInerney, Michael (2020) "Beneath The Frozen Shroud," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 42 : No. 2 , Article 
41. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol42/iss2/41 
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Beneath The Frozen Shroud            Michael McInerney
A wasteland is waiting.
In an otherworldly silence,
The graveyard weeps
Its crystalline winter tears.
Life is but a memory here:
Like a newborn thrust
Into an empty, ageless sleep
That time has long ago forgotten.
Lifetimes and civilizations end
But Mother Earth’s still churning.
Her lips kiss the timeless tundra.
If a star were to fall to Earth,
Would anybody find it 
Beneath the frozen shroud?
When Creeks Run Again                      Bridget Kingston
It is utterly unironic that snow damped the April
ground. You died, even as hope licked our skin
and sunlight offered its promise of a ripe tomorrow.
I knew this day was coming. I knew
it when I emerged from my pillowy down to find
other sunlight, shepherding tufts of snow
down to mock the budding trees. 
There’s a certain weight as the air works its way up
from frozen to thawed. April is the pregnant
pause before an exhale. Which is why it’s not shocking, 
it’s not shocking at all
that I woke up to find your hollow
body abandoned
in my chest. I knew the risk
of the cold coming into re-
arrange the light, but with birth
comes death. I’ll bury you when
ice thaws, when 
snow softens, when
creeks run again with crystal spring water. 
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McInerney: Beneath The Frozen Shroud
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Beneath The Frozen Shroud

Blanco, Tania

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 25 
Fall 12-1-2020 
Outstretched Hands 
Tania Blanco 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
Blanco, Tania (2020) "Outstretched Hands," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 25. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/25 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
Outstretched Hands                                                          Tania Blanco
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Blanco: Outstretched Hands
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Outstretched Hands

John, Jamie

The Prairie Light Review 
Volume 43 Number 1 Article 29 
Fall 12-1-2020 
The Vanishing, Series 
Jamie John 
College of DuPage 
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr 
Recommended Citation 
John, Jamie (2020) "The Vanishing, Series," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 29. 
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol43/iss1/29 
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It 
has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For 
more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu. 
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John: The Vanishing, Series
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College of DuPage

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Episode 15: George Floyd, 846, and Necessary Conversations

Episode 10: Comics, Cartoons and COVID-19

Front Cover - Ultraviolence

Table of Contents

Editor\u27s Note

Perfect Strangers

pointy pointy!!!

Beneath The Frozen Shroud

Outstretched Hands

The Vanishing, Series

7,467

11,908