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Course Description

Summary

The traditional short story often follows a traditional form. A story begins when some clear incident incites a causal chain of events. Over the course of these events, action and tension breathe life into the story until it reaches a climactic scene. When the balloon can get no fuller, it pops, deflates, or sails away (this is known as the denouement). In this class, we will study approximately two dozen great examples of more and less traditional short stories. Authors we read may include Margaret Atwood, Anton Chekhov, John Cheever, Ted Chiang, Junot Diaz, Denis Johnson, Miranda July, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lorrie Moore, George Saunders, Zadie Smith, and Justin Torres. Additionally, each student will write two ten- to twenty-page stories of their own. At the end of the semester a revision will be due: one of these two stories, reworked, according (or in opposition) to feedback from myself and your peers. In the process of revision, stories may take on different sizes, colors, and shapes. Once the form has been mastered, it may be shattered.