by Preston Hagen | Apr 30, 2023 | Reviews
Review by Teddie Richer Indeed, William E. Jefferson’s revolutionary new epic allegorical adventure PRESENCE, THE PLAY is a tale immersed in Easter tradition. But to classify it as a traditional Easter novel would not be doing it justice… It is a story full of...
by Preston Hagen | Apr 30, 2023 | Reviews
Presence, the Play by William Jefferson is an allegorical tale woven across multiple levels: Christian theology, media critique, the hero’s journey, and poetic reimagining of classic works, including Dante’s Inferno and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The storyline leads...
by Preston Hagen | Apr 30, 2023 | Reviews
Review by Cynthia Conrad While Jefferson calls upon the works of Frost, Chaucer and Poe to add depth to the story, it is Dante’s Inferno and biblical texts that inform the novel as a whole. With each trip to hell, Script must pass through one of five doors that open...
by Preston Hagen | Apr 30, 2023 | Reviews
“We are swiftly dehumanizing the Race. Like wildebeests, they race headlong into discarnate adventure and the so-called wonders of AI. They long, like Eve, to free themselves from their old, hardwired brains. … Humans have become lab rats of their own making. In their...
by Preston Hagen | Oct 10, 2022 | Articles, Reviews, Reviews & Endorsements
A beautifully written book that I enjoyed from beginning to the end. I love reading something that speaks into my soul and stays even when I have put the book down and this certainly did that. As others have noted, it does have echoes of Pilgrim’s Progress, but...
by William | May 4, 2021 | Reviews, Reviews & Endorsements
Reviewed by Ashley Hooker for Reader Views: In “Presence, the Play,” William Jefferson has crafted an allegorical tale of America today. He begins his story at the Theatre Portesque where Script, the playwright, is awaiting theperformance of his play, Presence. Before...