Behind the Wheel in Edward P. Jones’s DC

By Kenton Rambsy

In Edward P. Jones’s “Gospel” and “The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed,” two women drive groups of friends more than 10 miles across DC. In each car, trouble that starts at a stop plays out on the road until a passenger gets out.

In “Gospel” and “The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed,” two stories from Lost in the City, Edward P. Jones uses long drives across DC to keep a group of friends in one car, where an argument can build from one stop to the next.

Both drives run more than 10 miles across DC, which is too far for these friends to walk. A car lets Jones put several friends together and take them to stops across the city in a single day or night. When something goes wrong at a stop, the friends still have to ride together, and Jones writes the argument that follows inside the car.

In “Gospel,” Vivian drives her gospel group from her home east of the Anacostia River to sing at a church in Northwest. On the way home, her married friend Diane asks to stop at 14th and Fairmont, and Vivian watches from the car as Diane kisses another man. Still upset by what she saw, Vivian yells “I ain’t your gotdamn chauffeur!” when Diane gets back in, and Diane gets out at Claridge Towers.

In “The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed,” Cassandra drives three friends in her brother-in-law’s 1957 Hudson from Clifton Street NW to Anacostia to see Gladys’s father. On the way back, the car stalls outside a house party near Capitol Hill, and a young man named Wesley fixes it. Cassandra is giving Wesley a phone number when Melanie screams because another young man at the party got rough with her. Angry that her moment with Wesley is over, Cassandra calls Melanie’s boyfriend a fool, and Melanie gets out on 8th Street.

Jones lets trouble start at a stop along the way and then plays it out on the road while the friends are still riding together. Because the car keeps moving across DC, he can carry an argument from one neighborhood to the next until a passenger decides to get out.

Related:

• Black Short Story Findings

Data and Interpretation in Zora Neale Hurston’s Short Fiction

By Jade Harrison

Developments in data collection and analysis give us rich opportunities to examine the artistic decisions Black writers make in their short fiction. Equipped with precise numerical data on stories, authors, characters, dialogue, and narrative settings, we can now identify recurring patterns, trace creative choices across works, and uncover dimensions of Black literary art that might otherwise escape our attention.

Hurston’s 25 stories range from 328 to 8,122 words, which can help us consider the variance between short stories and short stories. If a 300-word take is a short, short story then is an 8,122 word narrative a long short story?

More than 590 characters appear across Hurston’s stories, and pinpointing the specific number of settings in which they appear, the frequency with which they speak, and the distribution of their dialogue allows us to identify larger patterns in Hurston’s storytelling and compare the narrative roles of different characters.

Using data to examine a writer’s formal and artistic decisions opens new possibilities for literary interpretation. Imagine the possibilities of tracking patterns across dozens, or even hundreds, of stories by multiple writers. Data-informed approaches allow us to extend the work we have long been doing in African American literary studies, revealing broader patterns, uncovering new connections, and expanding our understanding of Black literary art.

Related: 

• Black Short Story Findings

• A Notebook of Writings by Jade Harrison

A Notebook of Writings by Jade Harrison

• Data and Interpretation in Zora Neale Hurston’s Short Fiction 

• A Checklist of Zora Neale Hurston's Short Stories 

• Dialogue in Zora Neale Hurston’s "The Gilded Six Bits" 

• Where the Talking Happens in Hurston's “Spunk”

• Whose Story Gets Told at Joe Clarke’s Store in “Spunk” 

• Where Zora Neale Hurston Gives Delia a Voice in “Sweat” 

Related:

• Black Short Story Findings

Reflecting on Representation and Reading

By Joyce Woodard

This week I wrote a piece about representation and the role it plays in the reading experience. This made me
think back to my February 13, 2026, piece “Reading depends on Who’s in the Room.” 

In this piece, I reflected on my experience reading Passing in a Harlem Renaissance class and how the class and discussion made the reading experience so much better. I still strongly believe many factors contribute to making reading enjoyable, and they should be considered. The piece I wrote earlier this week was about how representation in books matters to students and how a lack of representation can discourage students from reading. .

Looking back on this piece, I still feel the same, and I think it is definitely a topic worth revisiting from time to time. In past reflections, I felt more critical of the piece I was reflecting on, but this one held up well, and I’m proud of it. 

Related: 

• Black Readers Findings

• A Notebook of Writings by Joyce Woodard

Why Representation Matters in Reading

By Joyce Woodard

When first-year Black women and men students were asked if it was important for them to read works that reflect Black people, experiences, or cultures majority answered that they agree.

It makes sense that students want to read about people and experiences that they can relate to or see themselves in, but what happens when the reading isn’t relatable? Black students at SIUE have the opportunity to be introduced to Black literature their first year thanks to FAME and GAME, and unless they are Black Studies majors, there is no emphasis on Black literature in other classes.

My concern is that Black students will feel less motivated to read in future classes because they won’t see the representation they do now in FAME and GAME classes. Spaces for Black students at a PWI are already limited, and while it may seem small, students reading books they can connect to may be the determining factor in how they perform in classes.

Related: 

• Black Readers Findings

• A Notebook of Writings by Joyce Woodard

Have Students Become Performative?

By Joyce Woodard

When first-year Black women and men students were asked if they enjoyed reading in their free time, the majority answered neutral or disagree.

I found this surprising because when the same students were asked whether they considered themselves readers, the most selected answers were agree and neutral. I found the difference interesting because the answers almost contradict each other. I've realized that college students sometimes feel the need to exaggerate how much they read, but why is that?

I think students feel like saying they don’t enjoy reading makes them a bad student, which obviously isn’t true. These results made me wonder, how can students grow if they feel the need to be performative in academic spaces?

Related: 

• Black Readers Findings

• A Notebook of Writings by Joyce Woodard

A Notebook of Writings by Joyce Woodard

• November 1: Reflecting on Representation and Reading  

• November 1: Why Representation Matters in Reading 

• November 1: Have Students Become Performative? 

• November 1: Reflecting on Digital Culture and Reading 

• October 17: Revisiting “Reading and Community”

• October 9: What Makes Poetry Difficult for Students? 

• October 9: Revisiting Black Students and Digital Culture 

• October 6: What Makes Reading Difficult for Students? 

• September 30: Why Students Prefer Short Stories  

• March 6: Writing about Readers and Reading 

• February 22: How Overwhelming Obligations Affect Black Women Readers 

• February 22: Black Students and Digital Culture 

• February 19: Five Major Barriers Facing Black Women Readers 

• February 18: College and the Reading Lives of Black Women 

• February 13: When Discussion Drives Reading 

• February 13: Reading Depends on Who’s in the Room 

• February 6: Reading and Community 

• February 6: Black students and online reading 

• January 30: How Black Women Are Reading Now  

Related:

• A Notebook on Readers

Reflecting on Digital Culture and Reading

By Joyce Woodard

Perhaps, I was on the right track thinking young readers would have a hard time adjusting if digital platforms went away.

In my February 6, 2026, piece, “Black Students and Online Reading,” I expressed that I believed students would have a harder time than they think if suddenly all digital platforms disappeared. The student that I interviewed in that piece acknowledged there would be an adjustment period, but otherwise they would be fine. I didn’t really believe that then, and I still don’t think it would be that simple. .

Some of the research I’ve done this week has had me thinking about students feeling like they must perform so they look like good students. I think this piece is a clear example of this because almost everyone I asked responded similarly. I’m not saying I don’t think people would read, but I still believe students were greatly underestimating how much they rely on digital platforms. .

Related: 

• Black Readers Findings

• A Notebook of Writings by Joyce Woodard