“Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.” (Psalm 96:12)
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Introduction:

My photo
Current: Danbury, CT, United States
Welcome! A few years ago, I discovered an application that artists employ in their works to bring cultural awareness to their audiences. Having discerned this semiotic theory that applies to literature, music, art, film, and the media, I have devoted the blog,Theory of Iconic Realism to explore this theory. The link to the publisher of my book is below. If you or your university would like a copy of this book for your library or if you would like to review it for a scholarly journal, please contact the Edwin Mellen Press at the link listed below. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Announcements

I will present or have presented research on Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) or my semiotic theory of iconic realism at the following location(s):

2023-2025: I will be researching and writing my third book on iconic realism.

April 2022: American Conference for Irish Studies, virtual event: (This paper did not discuss Sydney Owenson.) "It’s in the Air: James Joyce’s Demonstration of Cognitive Dissonance through Iconic Realism in His Novel, Ulysses"

October, 2021: Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT: "Sydney Owenson’s use of sociolinguistics and iconic realism to defend marginalized communities in 19th century Ireland"

March, 2021: Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, North Carolina: "Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan): A Nineteenth Century Advocate for Positive Change through Creative Vision"

October, 2019: Elms College, Chicopee, Massachusetts: "A Declaration of Independence: Dissolving Sociolinguistic Borders in the Literature of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)"

06 November, 2024

Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, the 47th President of the United States

photo from Google Images

Donald J. Trump has now collected the number of votes to be officially elected by the Electoral College as the 
47th President of the United States. 

It's time to .....

Make America great again!


04 November, 2024

Sydney Owenson's Rhetoric of Revolution


In the Preface of her 1814 novel, O’Donnel, Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) reveals a continuation of her then ten-year application of revolutionary purpose for her writing:

The character of my sex, no less than my own feelings, urged me, in touching those parts of Irish history which were connected with my tale, to turn them to the purposes of conciliation, and to incorporate the leaven of favorable opinion with that heavy mass of bitter prejudice, which writers, both grave and trifling, have delighted to raise against my country.

Clearly, Owenson is conscious of her aristocratic audience as she utilizes feminine rhetoric in direct correlation with her Anglo-Irish background to make her political statement.

03 November, 2024

On a Cashew Nut

Once, TFE's Poetry Bus had Dominic Rivron request for us is to write a poem on something on which we would normally not write... literally.
Well, that particular week, we had been having a100+º heat wave, and my brain had definitely melted.... So, I took my teeny tiny 'PreciseV5' purple pen and wrote the following haiku on a cashew nut. Graffiti for ants! A fun activity!

Cashew Haiku
On this nut I write
I, this nut, write on
cashew deliberation

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

02 November, 2024

The Wild Irish Girl: a national tale, written by Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

The Wild Irish Girl by Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) and image from book
1888 edition from my collection

In her novel, The Wild Irish Girl, Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) introduces the ‘national tale’ and exquisitely moves the reader through a traditional, romantic legacy. She employs the extensive use of explanatory sidebars to enlighten her readers of unjust penal codes within the Act of Union 1801. 

In addition, she unifies the reader with her cause, that of representing the Irish 'wild' or natural viewpoint of the English aristocracy with her unique voice, illustrating that similar passions faced by women also reflect the power struggle within the intellectual, romantic era. Thus, her choice of the term, 'wild,' is deliberately freeing.  

01 November, 2024

All Saints Day: Jeanne d'Arc

For All Saint's Day (Nov. 1), 
I've chosen to write of my patron saint, Jeanne d'Arc, 
whose spirit I've admired for her strength and perseverance. 

Jeanne d'Arc in Battle by Hermann Stilke (1803-1860)

Jeanne d'Arc's Death at the Stake  by Hermann Stilke (1803–1860)    

Jeanne d’Arc

Stalwart, spiritual,
she engages
an army
of anxious souls.
Her fate: rejection
inflamed 
by the ignorant
transporting her
to glorious praise
from Love’s Source.
Courage endures
through
fervent benevolence 
and truest devotion to God. 


© Jeanne I. Lakatos  

To view a website devoted to Jeanne d’Arc:

31 October, 2024

Halloween: Hell-icopter Mom

Having never written a triolet, I thought this would be a good time to try. Any person in the field of education will understand the character described in my entry below. Happy Halloween!

photo from Google Images

Hell-icopter Mom
She hovers with her vexing broom
with scary thoughts and grave concerns
while searching for a teacher’s room.

She hovers with her vexing broom,
her presence marked by familiar rheum.
Common sense she always spurns.

She hovers with her vexing broom 
with scary thoughts and grave concerns.


© Jeanne I. Lakatos

30 October, 2024

Trains! A Phantasmagorical Journey

Grand Central Station, NYC
Photo from Google Images

One week, my poetry group leader asked us to consider taking the train. Well, my trains of thought below switch tracks now and then: from London's Victoria Station Underground to the New York City's Metro North, which in 2005-06, transported me from Connecticut via Brewster, NY to Grand Central Station, NY City, a phantasmagorical experience, centered with love. 


Phantasmagoria

My train of thought travels
along rickety tracks
holding onto every second
of life, whirling images
in hues of benevolence,
common sense,  and innocence
trying to make sense of it all,
love

Thrilling, drilling,
milling, willing,
this train has made stops:
friendships, family,
laughter, tears
love

Dedication, rumination,
allocation, tribulation,
abandonment, containment
achievement, bereavement
love

Once, I rode the train in London.
It stopped suddenly, and we
were told to evacuate.
The bomb did not detonate!
Divine Love

I stepped through a city of bedlam
eyes of fear, fearless, far from home
found my way to the British Library
back to my daughter’s smiling eyes
alive and satisfied, determined:
Loved

Clickety-click, the clock ticks
in synchronicity with New York City.
Passengers wait, date, relate, abate
whirling past the swans, evergreens,
quaint boutiques of Chappaqua:
country love

to Harlem’s door,
racing past graffiti,
colors smearing, words jeering
interlocking letters on a wall
tcxtual shout outs: anxious, proud
confused, fused, words:
city love

Bridge to tunnel, dark, lights blink
so many tracks, interlace under
this train slowly squeals to a stop,
doors open; we walk through the gates
under a Grand Central firmament
to blend in with the multitude
and I am one...
love.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(You can hear my reading of this by clicking HERE.)