About Me

Sean Woodard is an English PhD candidate at University of Texas at Arlington. He also serves as the Film Editor for Drunk MonkeysHis fiction, poetry, film criticism, and other writing have been featured in Los Angeles Review of Books, PLNU's Viewpoint, Hush Lit: A Journal of Noise, Screenshot Lit, Black Poppy Review, South Broadway Ghost Society, NonBinary ReviewHorrorbuzz, Cultured Vultures, and Los Angeles Magazine, among other publications.

Fiction | Poetry | Screenplays

Dingle Bay, Summer 2012 | Sean Woodard

Along the cliffs of Ceann Sibéal herds of sheep graze, weighed down by crimped fleece. Rough-hewn Celtic crosses, slathered in dust and moss, peek out from brittle underbrush. A boat slices through still bay waters, inboard motor stirring up foam as the throttle is revved. A gray dorsal fin approaches the vessel. With a barrel roll and flick of his flukes, Fungie the bottlenose dolphin launches into the air, slips back under the surface, and reemerges to nuzzle starboard and port sides with his rostrum. The Ring of Kerry is bathed in gold as Dingle’s red and white lighthouse guides Fungie back to the bosom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Gary Knows Best

Kayla had barely tied on her apron when Pierre, the maître’ d, hurriedly pulled her aside. He pointed to the corner booth. A balding man in a pinstripe suit sat across from a woman in a burgundy dress. Kayla cringed. “Oh God, Gary’s back. Who’s he wining and dining this time?” Pierre shrugged. “All I know is that it’s his third date in two weeks, each with a different person.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry to do this, but they’re your table tonight.” “You can’t be serious. He always requests Helen.” Pierre shoved two menus into her hands. “Helen’s out with the flu. Just appease him. Besides,” he said with a wink. “Gary knows best.”

Journalism

Rick Eisleben '69 Returns to Find Chapman Radio's Bold Spirit Still Thriving

The first two days had been a breeze, but lack of sleep eventually started catching up with Rick Eisleben as in spring 1969 he continuously spun vinyl in the broadcast booth of what was then called Radio Chapman. Somehow he made it through almost another full day as friends and colleagues “encouraged” him to stay awake — in one case by hovering over him with a Coke bottle full of water.

Catch This Flick: Oscar-Nominated "Cutie and the Boxer"

Noriko Shinohara could have done anything when she arrived in New York City as a 19-year-old art student. She chose to devote her life to avant-garde artist Ushio Shinohara, 22 years her senior and famous for his “boxing” paintings. Their 40-year marriage, plagued by alcoholism, an unstable lifestyle, and the sacrifices required to create their art, is chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer.

Film Columns and Essays

Film Reviews

BACURAU an Exercise in Sustained Tension

Director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s (Aquarias) latest film (co-directed with Juliano Dornellos) is a meditation on the socio-political state in Brazil, the importance of community, and the effects of violence. Shortlisted for Brazil’s official entry for best foreign language film for the 2020 Academy Awards, Bacurau has garnered acclaim from audiences and critics alike since its premiere at Cannes, where it tied for a Jury Prize.

Book & Music Reviews

SEE! HEAR! CUT! KILL! EXPERIENCING FRIDAY THE 13TH Is A Treasure Trove Of Information For Readers & Scholars

Can you think of a more iconic American horror villain than Jason Voorhees? Released this past October by University Press of Mississippi to coincide with Friday the 13th’s 40th anniversary, Wickham Clayton’s See! Hear! Cut! Kill! Experiencing Friday the 13th provides readers with 238 pages of generous overview and detailed analysis on the popular horror franchise.

Fighting Trump, the Early Years

Jeffrey C. Isaac, professor of Indiana University, Bloomington, and former editor of Perspectives on Politics, has a series of essays and opinion pieces called #AgainstTrump: Notes from Year One. In one respect, the American public have heard many of his arguments elsewhere. But as an artifact of its time, perhaps readers can see how journalists like himself who were labeled “enemies of the people” used their resources and writing abilities to document this important era of American history.

MUSIC / Unwrapping Jim Croce’s Christmas Song, “It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way” / Sean Woodard

But amid all the covers of classics your mother should know, there are a few musical gifts hidden deep within the Christmas tree boughs if anyone wishes to search for them. One of those songs is Jim Croce’s “It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.” It remains one of my favorite songs he composed. Recorded in 1973, the song serves as the closing track of Croce’s Life and Times album. The record, which also contained the No. 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 hit “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” proved to be one of the singer-songwriter’s most commercially successful.

Interviews

FILM All the Colors of Giallo Cinema: An Interview with Mikel J. Koven

Drunk Monkeys staff writer Sean Woodard had the opportunity to speak with horror film and folklore expert Mikel J. Koven to coincide with Sean’s film column on Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Duckling. Mikel J. Koven is senior lecturer on Film Studies at the University of Worcester in the U.K. and author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film and Film, Folklore, and Urban Legends. Join us as we delve into the macabre territory of the Italian Giallo genre.

Podcast Appearances

SCENE SELECTIONS Episode 20: Soviet September

“KTFC: Scene Selections” is a series of conversations between Anthony McKelroy, Miquela Davis, and a rotating cast of friends of The Frida Cinema. Tune in as we dissect shot compositions, overanalyze subtext, and wait for our coronavirus vaccines. Scene Selections is honored to welcome Dr. Kevin O’Brien to the show to discuss the best of Soviet Cinema. Dr. O’Brien has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley and also studied at St. Petersburg University in Russia. He teaches course topics on 19th and 20th century Russian literature, poetry, and the 20th Century Russian avant-garde.

SCENE SELECTIONS Episode 16: The Paranoid Seduction of Paul Verhoeven

“KTFC: Scene Selections” is a series of conversations between Anthony McKelroy, Miquela Davis, and a rotating cast of friends of The Frida Cinema. Tune in as we dissect shot compositions, overanalyze subtext, and wait for our coronavirus vaccines. With Paul Verhoeven’s newest film Benedetta premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this year, The Frida Cinema brings his most iconic works back to the big screen! Anthony & Miquela welcome Blog Writer Sean Woodard to the show for his first appearance as we discuss the best scenes of Robocop, Showgirls, and more!

Content Writing