B.C. Edwards - Evitative
This story reminded me of stories you might find in Matthew Derby's Super Flat Times, or of David Ohle's work - a great percentage of what is going on in the world being described is recognizable, but Edwards has definitely created his own little swatch of place and time. It could be seen as some sort of apocalyptic future, or an alternative Earth, or . . . When you read such a story, what are your own thoughts toward this? Or does that not even concern you - are you looking more at the writing and how the author pulls off what they're trying to do, than at the story and plot/characters? As a reader, I see Hobart as a great mixing of the two - the writing is always great, but it seems that as an editor you're also looking for something kind of badass to happen within the great writing, or to find a great character to latch onto.
Aaron Burch
This story reminded me of stories you might find in Matthew Derby's Super Flat Times, or of David Ohle's work - a great percentage of what is going on in the world being described is recognizable, but Edwards has definitely created his own little swatch of place and time. It could be seen as some sort of apocalyptic future, or an alternative Earth, or . . . When you read such a story, what are your own thoughts toward this? Or does that not even concern you - are you looking more at the writing and how the author pulls off what they're trying to do, than at the story and plot/characters? As a reader, I see Hobart as a great mixing of the two - the writing is always great, but it seems that as an editor you're also looking for something kind of badass to happen within the great writing, or to find a great character to latch onto.
Aaron Burch
I
like that those are the worlds -- Derby's Super Flat Times, and Ohle's
-- this story brought to mind. I hadn't made that connection explicitly
myself, but that is indeed maybe my favorite mode of story. You know...
were I to classify and then rank. Where "something kind of badass"
happens in addition to/within the great writing. I like every way you
describe this story, in fact. I like these kind of sci fi or fantasy or
magical realist or whatever you want to call them stories where the
world of the story could maybe be post-apocalyptic, or maybe just a
slightly different version of our own, and I don't think I ever look to
specifically explain it, but I really want the logic of the world to be
fully conveyed on the page, and I think Carter handles that really,
really well in this piece. I think the language and voice of the story
is not only really strong, but is a great match for the story itself, so
the two, voice and "plot," are working in tandem, which is important.
Often, voice is the first thing to pull me into a story -- what's going
on within the sentences themselves; how are they conveying what is
happening, emotion, etc. -- but what I am really looking for with
stories for Hobart, even more than with some of my reading tastes when
it comes to other journals and story collections, it seems lately, is
for the story itself, at some point, to really take over and suck me in.
Comments