Challenge 811

Groaning With or At?

In Holly Day’s Letting Go of the Conceit, how does the moral of the poem resemble that of Shelley’s “Ozymandias”?
In Ken Poyner’s Alien Courting, can the “private language” be decrypted into plain English?
In Gary Clifton’s Harbor City Blues:
1. Aside from Agnes and the narrator, who hasn’t been “hosing” Mama Irene?
2. “Snakes had more rights than taxpayers in that country.” In view of the morality of many of these “taxpayers,” might the discrepancy seem to be justified?
3. Why does Dave, the private detective, let Harvey Bledsoe get away? Why does he get rid of his notes about the case?
In Howard Vogl’s A Moan in the Night:
1. Why don’t Josh and Brenda deduce a correlation between their own activities and the occurrences of ghostly moanings and groanings? Do they consider the noises spooky or inconvenient?
2. Does George stand to lose much if Brenda fails to notice his “Any Noise” advertisement? Might he have a backup plan to ensure his employment?
In Joseph Stearman’s Tennis Day:
1. Could the second section of the story be told from Derek’s first-person point of view? How might the transition from one “I” character to another be made?
2. Does the third-person point of view add anything that would be lost if Derek spoke in the first person?
3. What is Veronica’s function in the story? Would anything of substance be changed if her character were omitted?
4. What is the first-person narrator ashamed of: his father, his religion, its display or himself? Does he have any particular reason to be ashamed of anything?

Responses welcome!