New Plains Review

New Plains Review is published semiannually in the spring and fall by the University of Central Oklahoma and is staffed by faculty and students. We are committed to publishing high quality poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction by established and emerging writers. As passionate editors and students of New Plains Review, The University of Central Oklahoma's literary journal, we have chosen the following written and visual work for their enticing originality, creativity, and urgency to be in print. We desire to engage our readers with thought-provoking emotion and discussion, while remaining true to the author's voice and intent, and to gather in unison a moving, memorable literary journal. This Fall, we have included a wide variety of material in our Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction sections. Inadvertently, we found ourselves being drawn to works that portray the darker side of the human mind and life. This may be evident considering our opening quote from Poe. While discussing these issues, we were convinced our readers would also be enraptured in the intensity of our writers' words. Our chosen authors and poets have written on diverse subjects such as suicide, depression, marriage, family dilemmas, death, society's obsession with beauty, murder and crime, imagination, and guilt. For our Special Section, Dr. Timothy Petete's students have submitted a variety of artistic representations discussing society's stereotypes, stereotypes in mental illnesses, feminism, and other imperative social issues. This issue's Visual Art section contains a wide variety of high contrast artwork and photography, portraits, and concept artwork. We have chosen to feature the talented Brian Forrest on our 1920s themed cover and divider artwork. On behalf of New Plains Review, we are pleased to present to you our Fall 2013 issue.