Since ancient times, writers and poets have grappled with death, dying, grief, and mourning in their works. The Final Crossing: Death and Dying in Literature compiles fifteen in-depth, scholarly, and original essays on death and dying in literature from around the globe and from different time periods. Written from a variety of critical perspectives, the essays target both scholars and serious students. Death and dying is an important area of study for a variety of disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry, sociology, gerontology, medical ethics, healthcare science, health law, and literary studies. The Final Crossing is a landmark compendium of academic essays on death and dying in literary texts, such as the Iliad, ?ayy ibn Yaq??n, Hamlet, The Secret Garden, and The Grapes of Wrath. This collection of essays not only brings an international flavor, but also a unique angularity to the discourse on thanatology. The novelty of perspectives reflects the diverse cultural and intellectual backgrounds of the contributors. This diversity opens up a fresh conversation on a number of age-old questions related to «the final crossing.» In this volume, readers will find an intriguing array of topics for further reflection and research.

John J. Han is Professor of English and Creative Writing at Missouri Baptist University, where he also chairs the Humanities Division. He is the editor of Wise Blood: A Re-Consideration (2011) and serves as editor of Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal and Cantos: A Literary and Arts Journal. His articles have appeared in many journals and essay collections, such as Journal of Transnational American Studies, Literature and Belief, The Moral Philosophy of John Steinbeck, Steinbeck Studies, and The Steinbeck Review. Author of five haiku collections, he has also published poems in periodicals and anthologies worldwide, including Frogpond, Modern Haiku, and World Haiku Review. He earned his MA and his PhD from Kansas State University and the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, respectively. C. Clark Triplett is Vice President for Graduate Studies and Academic Program Review and Professor of Psychology/Sociology at Missouri Baptist University. He earned an AA from Hannibal-LaGrange College, a BA from Southwest Baptist University, an MDiv. from Covenant Theological Seminary, an MSEd from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and a PhD from Saint Louis University. He also studied at Concordia Seminary, the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, and the Harvard Institutes. A licensed counselor, he has published academic articles and book reviews in Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal.