In addition to writing short stories, John Eppel is also an award-winning poet and novelist. His list of achievements is impressive. His first novel, D.G.G. Berry’s The Great North Road (1992), won the M-Net Prize in South Africa. His second novel, Hatchings (1993), was short-listed for the M-Net Prize and his third novel, The Giraffe Man (1994), has been translated into French. And his first poetry collection, Spoils of War (1989), won the Ingrid Jonker Prize. Other poems have been featured in anthologies that include The Heart in Exile South African Poetry in English 1990-1995 (1996) while his short stories have appeared in anthologies that include Writing Now: More Stories from Zimbabwe (2005).

In a recent interview with , John Eppel spoke about his writing.

When capitalism fails the rich
(it always fails the poor), a jism
reinvigorates the corporate bitch:
let’s call it bow-wow socialism.
Good ol’ Uncle Sam, he saves the big banks
with tax-payers’ money, tax-payers’ sweat;
Wall Street billionaires, give him thanks
for winkling you fraudsters out of debt!
Dogknot socialism for plutocrats,
the broker-dealers’ contingency plan;
ill-gotten gains made by ill-gotten brats
devilling themselves in the frying pan.
Where Bob’s your uncle, the Reserve Bank feeds
cronyism, and the First Lady’s needs.

* John Eppel is a poet, novelist, and short-story writer from Zimbabwe. He won the MNet Prize in 1994 for his novel, D.G.G. Berry’s Great North Road (1992).
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