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Ceridwen Dovey
Author
Ceridwen Dovey is a South African born novelist who now lives in New York. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Harvard in 2003, Dovey returned to South Africa to write a novel. Blood Kin, the result of that work, was published in 2007 to critical acclaim: the novel was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Informed by Dovey's South African roots, the novel tells the story of a fictional military coup from the perspective of the overthrown leader's portraitist, chef, and barber. Dovey is currently completing a PhD in Anthropology at New York University. Dovey doesn't see a conflict between her two passions. "Both anthropology and good fiction are full of thick description and a layering of detail," she says.
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3mins
Imbedding anthropologists with combat units in Afghanistan presents some unique opportunities, as well as some ethical liabilities, Dovey says.
3mins
Ethical change always lags behind technological change, Dovey says.
1mins
Botswana’s tackling of the AIDS crisis can teach the rest of the continent something.
1mins
The concept of “Africa” is not strictly European in origin; African leaders have propagated the idea, too.
2mins
South African colonialism was home-grown.
3mins
Jacob Zuma’s rise is a frightening embodiment of the country’s class tension.
2mins
Dovey believes that class seems to be the more important factor.
1mins
Dovey was raised an agnostic in a sea of conservative Christianity.
2mins
Dovey cherishes the novel that is honest about its own limitations.
1mins
J.M. Coetzee is the gold standard, Dovey says.
2mins
Procrastination stems from fear and self-protection, says Dovey.
1mins
Remember that writing is still work, Dovey says.
2mins
Young writers are often treated as the goose that lays the golden egg, Dovey says.
1mins
Dovey feels that she stumbled into success.
5mins
Guilt is never one-dimensional, Dovey says, and complicity always complicates how it’s distributed.
