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Ben Stoltzfus

Literary Titan Silver Award winner

Literary Titan silver award
"Transgression is unbelievably compelling and a GREAT read!... An exquisite book!!"
-Juliet MacCannellProfessor Emerita, Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine
"The plot's transgressions synthesize progression and regression in the same way as the chronology of the story synthesizes the notion of time, whether historical or personal, in the timelessness of the text. [Stoltzfus's] unique style, yet another synthesis between oral and Britten expression, never fails to absorb the reader by a permanent sense of immediacy and need to go on."
--Rayond Gay-Crosier Professor Emeritus, University of Florida
"Transgression: Wow!! [Stoltzfus's] writing is beautiful, powerful, deliberate, intense. It really grips me. [He] held my interest the whole time--every minute. [He] created this intense story from so many angles and layers--spiritual, religious, historical, filled with beautiful, poetic language and imagery. [Stoltzfus] maintained a tension throughout the stories keeping me moving from one to the next, always wondering what will happen next... [His] characters' affairs are intense and evocative. [He] propels us to consider our own journeys. So many details in [his] stories triggered many memories and connections...your insights resonate...particularly yearning for liberation from indoctrination. ...I love [Stoltzfus's] discussion of writing and freedom...[and his] imagery is so strong and meaningful...how [his] teacher and books and writing helped [him] heal."
Martha Bloomfield award-winning author of The Sweetness of Freedom: Stories of Immigrants
"I loved the way [Transgression] wove together history, places, and the narrator's coming of age story. I learned a lot about those places... [Stoltzfus] captured the flavor of those times in so many ways. I particularly enjoyed the references to the songs people were listening and dancing to...during the war. ...This autofiction...is a wonderful book."
--Vicky MistaccoProfessor Emerita, Wellesley College
...recommends Transgression highly for book discussion groups “that look for stories about maturity achieved during times of social, political, and personal chaos.”
--Diane DonovanMidwest Book Review
...calls Transgression “a fascinating tapestry of youth’s hopes, ambitions and increasing understanding of the ways of the world, set against a background of war and destruction.”
--Feathered Quill Book Reviewsreviewer
Silver Award, and “recommends Transgression to readers looking for an intellectually invigorating yet emotionally resonant historical fiction novel that provides a look at humanity during a monumentally difficult time in history.”
--Literary Titanreviewer
4 stars and lists it as a “Want to Read Book.”
--Goodreadsreview
...says: “Readers interested in first-person historical accounts as well as moral philosophy questions and coming-of-age stories will enjoy Transgression. [It is] replete with issues relevant to modern life and ripe for discussion on many levels.”
--Kathy L. BrownThe Independent Book Review

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Ben Stoltzfus is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and Creative Writing at the University
of California, Riverside.

He is a novelist, translator, literary critic, and internationally recognized inter-arts scholar. He has published twelve monographs of literary criticism and received Fulbright, Camargo, Gradiva, Humanities, Creative Arts, and MLA awards. He has published six novels and two collections of short stories.

Romoland, a pictonovel, was written in collaboration with his artist wife, Judith Palmer. Dumpster, for God’s Sake, a  recent novel, describes Loviers City’s group behavior and collective zeal, both of which reflect an overriding quest for soul. The short story collection, Falling and Other Stories, is by turn mythic and realistic, moving and wistful, innovative and traditional. Stoltzfus’s latest hybrid work, Alliecats, 53 Graphic Tales About Cats, was written in collaboration with the artist, Allie Kirschner, his granddaughter. He lives in  Riverside, California.

About the Author

A photo of Ben Stoltzfus

Other Works in Print

The front cover of Dumpster, for God's Sake by Ben Stoltzfus
Fiction
The front cover of Romoland by Judith Palmer and Ben Stoltzfus
Hybrid
The front cover of D.H. Lawrence's Final Fictions by Ben Stoltzfus
Monograph

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