An Interview with Lauren C. Teffeau

Lauren C. Teffeau

Caitlin Carpenter, an assistant editor at Tampa Review, interviewed speculative fiction writer Lauren C. Teffeau about her latest novella A Hunger with No Name. They discussed themes of generational storytelling, her creative inspiration, and delved into her writing process.

Wallowing in Blood: THE LAST OF US Franchise and How Not to Imagine Otherwise

“The Last of Us Remastered” by Néstor Carvajal, August 11, 2014, CC License

This article is not about how the television adaptation of The Last of Us stands as an allegory for the way that the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in the U.S. Rather, I theorize that the show’s abiding grimness, an outgrowth of the second game in the franchise, serves as representation and reinforcement of the deep and persistent ableism inherent in late capitalism, which unfortunately was only exacerbated by the global disabling event of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

THE LAST OF US, Fungal Entanglements, and Theorizations of Disability Representation

Image by Néstor Carvajal, uploaded August 11, 2014, CC License.

Mainstream narratives rarely focus on “the promises of monsters” envisioned by feminist theory (see, for instance, Donna Haraway’s work) or disability theory’s reclaiming (for instance in Robert McRuer’s and Rosemary Garland-Thomson’s work) of concepts which historically carried negative connotations like “crip” or “freak,” but representations of disability in the context of horror media must also contend with the problem of how disability has been framed in horror texts.

Acquisition Announcement: MAKING A KINGDOM OF IT by Lance Larsen

In his sixth poetry collection, Lance Larsen reminds us we are all travelers, bedraggled and tired but curious. Whether by train or on foot, whether exploring London or a suburban backyard or a childhood memory involving cuckoo clocks, the poet revels not in ticking off a successful arrival but in the jostlings of the journey.… Continue reading Acquisition Announcement: MAKING A KINGDOM OF IT by Lance Larsen

Beholding the Cockroach

"At Night Challenge Entry," Image upload by Gep Pascual, October 23, 2006, CC License

It was a paranormal mystery series studded with conspiracy, violence, and darkness, but The X-Filesalways shone brightest to me when it did comedy. “War of the Coprophages,” a season three monster-of-the-week tale of killer cockroaches from outer space (or are they?), is a case in point.