  
ILLUMINATIONS OF THE FANTASTIC ONLINE MAGAZINE

ISSUE

NO.
20

EPIC POETRY · VOLUME IV
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PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2026

EDITORS
SAMUEL J. STEPHENS · NATHAN GILMORE

ARTWORK
ALICIA JOY TAYLOR

ART DESIGN
SAMUEL J. STEPHENS

Stories

‘TEARS THROUGH THE HARP’S TWANGING’

***essay | tolkien/old english poetry***
by ELEANOR PARKER
Full title: ‘Tears Through the Harp’s Twanging’: The Battle of Maldon and Tolkien’s The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth. Medievalist scholar Eleanor Parker explores Tolkien’s short radio play and the Old English poem '“The Battle of Maldon” on which it is based.
*Art Design by Sam Stephens*

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THE STRIKE OF THE HUORNS

***poetry | alliterative verse***
by SÖLVÖR BJARNA
A short alliterative poem.
*Art Design by Sam Stephens*

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CHARLES THE FIRST

***poetry | narrative poetry***
by WILLIAM G. CARPENTER
The continuation of the English Civil War Epic, this time focusing on King Charles I.
*Art Design by Sam Stephens*

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THE EPIC ACTS OF THE APOSTLES PART V

***poetry | biblical narrative***
by ALICIA JOY TAYLOR
The fifth part (fourth installment) of The Epic Acts of the Apostles.
*Art Design by Sam Stephens*

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HAIKU: A PERSONAL NOTE

***essay | haiku***
by NATHAN GILMORE
A personal essay reflecting on learning haiku and its true nature as Japanese poetry of expression. A counterintuitive inclusion with the epic, but purposefully so.
*Art Design by Sam Stephens*

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Features

FILM FILINGS

***September 24th, 2026***
In this edition of Film Filings, Poss reviews the titanic-title of 2026: Christopher Nolan’s *The Odyssey*. Christopher Witty reviews the BBC folk-horror adaptation of Alan Garner’s *The Owl Servic*e; then, a snapshot reviews by Witty of the unique 2005 adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu; Nathan Gilmore reviews the late-masterpiece of John Ford’s American myth-making: *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance*, then Yojiro Takita’s *Departures* from 2008, and Spielberg’s all-too-relevant *AI: Artificial Intelligence* from 2001. Rounding us off is Sam Stephens’ review of the 1996 *Hamlet*, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s most famous play.
*Artwork by Sam Stephens*

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Content Rating: All stories published by IF can be assumed to have a content rating between PG-13 and a soft R.

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Stories

‘TEARS THROUGH THE HARP’S TWANGING’

by ELEANOR PARKER

THE STRIKE OF THE HUORNS

by SÖLVÖR BJARNA

CHARLES THE FIRST

by WILLIAM G. CARPENTER

THE EPIC ACTS OF THE APOSTLES PART V

by ALICIA JOY TAYLOR

HAIKU: A PERSONAL NOTE

by NATHAN GILMORE

Features

FILM FILINGS

COPYRIGHTS.

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