For second semester courses in Introduction to Literature, Literature and Composition, Introductory Fiction and Creative Writing courses. This anthology is an international story collection by critically-acclaimed authors, and includes essays by renowned writers and scholars on the key stylistic elements of this relatively new art form: the very short story. Authors of these classic, modern, and avant garde stories include Alice Walker, Yasunari Kawabata, Helena Vivien Viramontes, Amy Hemple, H.H. Munro, and Anton Chekhov, plus many others. It provides students with an exciting taste of global literature, and writing guidelines which includes a list of 10 succinct crafting instructions enables students to focus on key aspects of writing as they analyze the authors' prose and write their own very short stories.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Echoing first reviewer:
For starters, it's a mix of "very short stories" and "very short excerpts" from longer works (such as "Winesburg, Ohio"). Personally I find that when you get samplings of long works served to you in this way, you lose the larger context that surrounds the piece. The exercises are disappointing - it's just a list of single sentences prompts for writing about common life events. "Write about an argument," "write about going to college, either deciding to go or not go." Most of the stories feature... more info
A pleasant surprise.:
This was a required text for a college course. It has been like visiting old friends. The "classic" authors and others I'd never heard of provide a very good read, and the insights into writing by some of the authors is helpful.
More than Expected:
While looking for an anthology of short stories, I came across this "textbook" and the most diverse assortment of short story writers I have ever seen. For those who appreciate the poetry of judicious prose this is a find. Also liked the sections categorizing voice, point-of-view, and setting. Great technical examples that show rather than tell you the differences. Bought it, kept it, still using it, and now even recommending it. Respectful creative writing that will help keep the genre thriving.
Save your money:
If you are looking for tips to improve your writing, look elsewhere. The 'instructions' could all fit on one page and consist of such helpful hints as "choose your voice, point of view, and setting...the choice is entirely up to you". "Write a rough draft..." "Edit your draft for logic, clarity, and plausibility." "Continually read excellent fiction." The section of exercises is simply a list of 20 topics with this instruction: "Write a very short story about one of the following:" The... more info
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