Angus Woodward: Down at the End of the River

Caution: Guy Writing

Angus Woodward is a writer and a teacher of writing. He has taught college writing since 1990 and is the founding director of the Center for Innovative Teaching & Engagement at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His books of fiction are Down at the End of the River (Margaret Media, 2008), Americanisation (Livingston Press, 2011), and Oily (upcoming in 2018 from Spaceboy Books). His writing has been published a variety of periodicals, including recent scholarly pieces in Faculty Focus and Impact, short stories in Fiction Southeast and Alimentum, and personal essays in Medical Literary Messenger and Normal School.

Oxford American hailed Americanisation as “a hilariously crafted postmodern novel wedged into the template of a social-studies textbook for immigrants.” Of Americanisation’s innovative form, the New York Journal of Books said, “Since the novel is 500 years old, it has been hypothesized that the idiom is exhausted of original ideas. With Americanisation, Mr. Woodward disproves this hypothesis….” Americanisation also made Library Journal’s list of notable first novels for fall 2011. Michael Griffith called it " A darkly comic, delightful book.” Michael Martone said it was "...a hilarious simulacrum, a map more detailed than the thing it is meant to represent," and added, "It is drop-dead, deadpan funny.” You can contact Angus at awoodw64(at)gmail.com.

Journal and Anthology Publications

NON-FICTION:

*"I Wrote Something. This Is Not It," (Normal School, 2009)

*"Eleven in the Huddle," (Sport Literate, 2008)

*“Louisiana’s New Political Landscape,” (Living Blue in the Red States [anthology], University of Nebraska Press, 2007)

*“Lessons from Joe,” (Voices of Lung Cancer [anthology], LaChance, 2007)

*“Subjects for Other Conversations by John Stigall,” (Xavier Review, Summer 2002)

*“Frozen Embraces/Zamrznuti Zagrljaji by Biljana Obradovic,” (World Literature Today, Winter 2002).

*“Le Riche Monde by Biljana Obradovic,” (Prairie Schooner, Fall 2001).

*“Voodoo Poems and Magic Prose,” (The Writer's Chronicle, March/April
2001).

*“Trespassers,” (Brevity, Fall 1999).

*“Aviary Slag by Jacques Servin,” (Iowa Review, December 1997).

*“Anthony Kellman's Watercourse,” (Northwest Review, Spring 1992).

*“Toward a Definition of Poetic Fiction,” (Calypso, December 1990).

*“Anne Waldman's Helping the Dreamer,” (New Delta Review, Fall 1989).

*FICTION:

*"Applesauce" (Stolen Stories [anthology], Forest Publications)

*“The Product Tester’s Report” (Mochila Review, 2007)

*“Bad Word Storm” (Nightsun, 2007)

*“A Brief History of Toast” (Alimentum, Summer 2006)

*“Captivated” (Xavier Review, Spring 2004)

*“One Thing You Must Never Do” ( Sudden Stories [anthology], Mammoth Books, 2003)

*“Out There in TV Land,” (Pennsylvania English, Spring 2001).

*“Don't Put Me Down,” (Talking River Review, Summer 2000).

*“All Hail Digredi,” (In Praise of Pedagogy [anthology], Calendar Islands,
2000).

*“The Ride,” (Habersham Review, Spring 1998).

*“Hampton Figs,” (Gulf Stream Magazine, Spring 1997).

*“Qatar Is an Emirate,” (Louisiana Literature, Fall 1992).

*“The Story of Jane and George,” (The Dominion Review, Spring 1992).

*“Arrivals and Departures,” (The Laurel Review, Winter 1992).

*“Sooner or Later,” (Innisfree, July-August 1991).

*“Ice Cold,” (Innisfree, May-June 1991).

*“First Things First,”(Tucumcari Literary Review, September 1990).

*“Curiosities,” (Soundings East, July 1990).

*“That Particular Incident,” (Poultry, Fall 1989).

*POETRY:

*“The Recipe for Tomato Cabal” (Alimentum, Summer 2006).

*“A Tour of the Ferocious,” (Visual Poetry: An Artistic Dialogue, Baton Rouge Gallery exhibit and exhibition catalog, 1999).

*“Sisterhood,” “Gunland,” and “El Cheapo Poem About My Old Guitar Teacher,” (KingLog, Fall 1998: ).

*“Untitled Ode #5,772,” (Satire, Spring 1997).

*“The Seven Thousandth Day,” (Wisconsin Review, Winter 1993).

*“Azalea Street Winter,” (The Bellingham Review, Spring 1992).

*“The Newsman's Premonition,” (Birmingham Poetry Review, Summer 1991).

*“Love Song in Two Dimensions,” (Rhino, Fall 1990).

Down at the End of the River, a collection of short stories set in south Louisiana, was published in 2008 by Margaret Media, Inc. To order, visit www.margaretmedia.com or Amazon.com. Stories in the collection have appeared in Xavier Review, Talking River Review, Louisiana Literature, Habersham Review, Pennsylvania English, and Dominion Review.

Advance praise for Down at the End of the River:

"Angus Woodward’s fertile, off-center imagination captures the soul of southern Louisiana much the way a 500-pound gator might chomp down on a kayak, except Woodward’s free-wheeling stories are fun, funny, and no one really gets hurt. Down at the End of the River is a humid, hilarious debut collection not to be missed. Laissez les bons temps rouler!"
--Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic and Desire

"Angus Woodward has an uncanny ability to slip inside the hearts and minds of characters as they step off the worn paths of their lives. Each lively, funny, heartfelt story in Down at the End of the River is a quirky delight."
--Brent Spencer, author of Are We Not Men?

"Angus Woodward’s imaginative prose lures readers into the unlit corners of the human psyche. His characters leap off the page, his plots are taut and atmospheric, and his outcomes are deliciously unpredictable. These stories grip and don’t let go.

"Career criminals who reform, Vietnamese refugees working through intense pain, kids next door discovering exactly how complex the heart can be—Angus Woodward’s collection has it all, and more. As subtle as they are powerful, these stories probe the human condition with penetrating insight and no apologies.

"Down at the End of the River, with its memorable characters and unpredictable plots, reminds us why storytelling is important. Beautifully crafted, intensely atmospheric, and emotionally fearless, Woodward delivers a wild literary ride along the modern Mississippi."
--Julie Mars, author of Anybody Any Minute

Here is an excerpt from the title story, courtesy of Margaret Media and Xavier Review:

Down at the End of the River

One day I guess I decided it was foolish for a man my age to keep pestering people and I just stopped what I had been doing for practically forty years or something, not that I ever counted that carefully. No more breaking, no more entering. I vowed to toss the coke-machine keys in the river the next time I was down in the Quarter. I couldn't bring myself to give away all of the guns, but planned to call some of my old assistants and ask if they wanted some, saving out a shotgun, three revolvers, and my thirty-ought six just for security and holidays.
So what do I do now? I wondered, and gave the old TV a try. Nothing but a bunch of yahoos beeping and tussling on all those newfangled talk shows. I cracked the blinds to get a look at what other people were doing. The street was quiet and shady like always, but instead of thinking it was the boringest place on earth, I saw how peaceful and homey it was. Why would I want to run off to Fat City strip joints or out to the truck stop casinos when I could do what my neighbors did on evenings like this? None of them were doing it just then, but often with the men home from work for the evening and two hours of daylight to go, people would find excuses to get out into their little yards, maybe to poison some fire ants or prune their azaleas, of which mine were halfway covering the windows. Doo-dad would be out soon with his glass of whiskey or can of beer, just sitting on the front step calling out smart comments to those who walked by. Because he was old like me, everyone thought his remarks were cute, but I knew better.

Angus Woodward

Caution: Guy Writing

Journal and Anthology Publications

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Down at the End of the River

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