Tag: numero cinq

Categories
Book Review

Modern America in 1990s South Africa

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In this month’s issue of Numéro Cinq, I talk about Ingrid Winterbach’s excellent The Elusive Moth. Though recently released by Open Letter, the novel was originally published in the 1990s and focuses on a woman living in a small South African town. The timeliness of Winterbach’s overarching themes—gender disparity; corrupt, powerful police—is quite chilling, and there are moments throughout reminiscent of recent events here in the US. One can’t help but feel the echo of Ferguson, MO when reading scenes of police lieutenants attacking innocent people, or when hell breaks loose the moment the marginalized attempt to take a peaceful stand. Amazing, brilliant, heartbreaking stuff.

You can find the review here.

 

Categories
Random

Moving on up

I’m now an Associate Editor at Numéro Cinq. Here’s a blurb from the magazine:

Ben Woodard, not all that long a member of the NC Masthead, but in light of his mighty and varied contributions to the magazine, has taken a step up the Celestial Ladder and assumed the new position of Associate Editor. Click on his name and take a look at his NC Archive Page to see what he’s brought to the magazine. Notably and recently, that interview with Lydia Davis, but also review of the new translation of Ondjaki’s Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret in the current issue.

See the full piece here.

Categories
Book Review Fiction

A piece of micro-fiction, plus a new review

Cheap Pop published my short story, “Hood Ornament,” earlier this week. It takes about a minute to read, so please find the time to give it a look, especially if you’re a fan of James Dean, car crashes, and locks of hair. You can find it by clicking here.

Also, over at Numéro Cinq, I review Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret, a really fun novel from Angolan writer Ondjaki. If you were a child of the 1980s, seek out this book. It reads like an adventure film from my youth, as a group of kids band together to take down the Soviets who threaten their beachside village. Here’s a link.

Categories
Book Review Interview Random

Recent News: Interviewing Lydia Davis, a book review, and a Skype talk

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Thankfully, the semester is almost over. I can almost breathe again.

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Over at Numéro Cinq, I have a brief but lovely interview with the amazing Lydia Davis.

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And the latest online edition of Rain Taxi contains my take on the short novel Sleeping with Gypsies.

Lastly, I hosted a short story Skype roundtable on Monday, featuring Laura van den Berg, Ethan Rutherford, and Jessica Hollander. You can watch video from the event below: